Looking for Life
by Luthien Eriol
Summary: What happens when a former thief is sent to join the gang in their mission to lock the worlds again? RikuxOC
1. Prologue

As metal shoes scraped against hard marble floor, Yvaine Denton was – literally - dragged into the throne room by guards who held a firm grip to her upper arms.

"Why can't you stand up for once?" One of the guards asked.

"Because I'm lazy." Yvaine replied, the silver haired female honestly not minding her skin scraping across the hard stone floor. The grip on her arms released and she fell to her knees, an irritated sigh emitting from her pale lips. Lifting her head revealed nearly glowing teal eyes hidden beneath silver bangs normally tucked behind her slightly pointed ear, now falling in front of her left eye. Her white, gold, and gray armor accented her pale skin and fit her form rather nicely, showing off her figure. "What's up?" Her gaze shifted to look to the golden haired woman, which earned her a smack in the back of her head by the other guard.

"You will address me as 'Your Majesty', knight." The woman sneered as she stood, sparkling purple eyes narrowed in her direction. This woman was, in simple terms, beautiful. Her eyes were easy to get lost in since they were such an odd colour. Her skin was paler than the average citizen of the Dusk Realm, though she wouldn't be compared to a vampire. If not for her short height, she would be considered the perfect shape for a woman. And you could tell how short the ruler was, because when Yvaine stood, she came up to only her shoulder. And Yvaine was about 5'10".

Yvaine's head rolled back, muttering something inaudible to the others, and then waited a few seconds before she bowed politely. "Your Majesty." She said in a teasingly polite voice

"That's better." Her Majesty crossed her arms. "Now, I have a mission for you." Walking up to the youth, she had to tilt her head back in order to get a good look at her.

One of her slender, silver eyebrows raised in a bored curiosity. "Another one?" She got another slap in the back of her head. "What is it this time, Your Majesty?" She addressed the woman through clenched teeth.

Her Majesty's eyebrow twitched. "You," She turned around and took a few steps forward. "Shall follow three soldiers, two boys and one female, to wherever they go and aid them." She turned back around. "One is the Keyblade master." She sounded like it was obvious as to why it was an important mission.

Yvaine made a jazz hand-like motion with her hands, mimicking fear to mock Her Majesty. "Oooh."

"This is a very big deal, Yvaine. And, if you succeed to bring them all here in the end…" She tapped her right ankle with her foot, and there was a soft jingling sound. "You might receive what you've always wanted." Her voice was lower as she said that.

Yvaine's eyes flickered with hope for a split second, and got on one knee as she bowed, her stomach pressed against her knee in how low she was. "Yes, Your Majesty." Her voice was suddenly polite and formal, like she knew how much whatever she blackmailed Yvaine with would be certain to get her to cooperate.

A smirk spread across her pale pink lips. "Very well. You might notice that when you get there, you cannot see." She tapped the side of her face in a teasing manner. "Call it a torture technique, if you must. This," A seeing rod appeared in front of Yvaine, floating. "Will be your weapon. It reacts to how you're feeling, and if you call out for it, it will not come. Everything must be in your head." She tapped her temple as she said the last sentence. "Is that clear?" Her arms crossed against her chest, sticking out a hip and raising an eyebrow.

Yvaine waited a few moments, and when one of the soldiers hit her head again, she growled. "Transparently." The word was forced out between tight, clenched jaws, nearly a hiss.

"Good, good." The shorter woman turned around and waved her hand in a dismissive way. "Off with her." She ordered, and the two soldiers saluted before taking Yvaine by her arms again and dragging her off.

"I'll make sure to never update!" Yvaine called before the doors closed, saying farewell by a sloppy salute.

Silence followed once they were out of the throne room and back into the long hallway. "Hey, boys." Yvaine allowed her head to fall back in order to look at the two soldiers. "How about we get some food before I take off?" She smirked.

"Ha ha." The soldier on the left sarcastically laughed. "Nice try."

Sticking her tongue out at the man, Yvaine gave him a crooked grin. "Can't say it wasn't worth a try…" She blinked, her head still back, watching where they were taking her. "I get to use the teleporter, don't I?"

No response.

A heavy sigh came from her. "Peachy." Her shoulders slumped, if that was even possible, given her position. "Where exactly is this place I'm going to?"

"A small island." The one to her left answered with a sigh. "Stand very still." He commanded, and the two tossed her on a flat, circular platform.

Yvaine smirked. "No need to tell me." She rolled her shoulders as she stood, stretching her sore limbs. "Farewell, boys. I'm goin' to a more exciting place than this boring old dump." She grinned, watching one of them roll his light green eyes. "See you later, Kai." Her voice was kinder when she said that.

The soldier smirked a little beneath the shadow of his helmet. "Goodbye, Yvaine." He replied before hitting a glowing green button, and the female was gone in a flash of light.

What Yvaine saw, however, was darkness taking over her eyes and her body falling limp.


	2. Home

"Hey!" I felt Riku's presence, so I ran over to him. He was laying in the sand, and he responded with only a groan. I felt his gaze on me. "U-Um… Did you sleep well?" I didn't know why I was at a lost for words around him every once in a while.

The lad only scoffed as a reply, faintly smiling. "Pretty good; youself?" He asked in return, sitting up from his laying down position.

I shrugged. "Not really…" I muttered, sitting down next to him.

Riku placed his fingertips on my chin and lightly tugged so that my blind eyes were wandering what was his face. "What happened?" He asked, his gaze serious and sending a chill down my spine.

I melted when I felt that gaze. "The usual." I answered with a small shrug. 'Dragged into darkness, calling out for help with no response, and then waking up." I knew that he was waiting for me to start bawling. "No big deal." I muttered.

He only blinked.

"Well, say something!" I exclaimed, pushing his hand away. "Don't make me feel like a fool!" I flailed my arms.

Riku shrugged. "Even if you're a fool, I'd still love you, you know that, right?" His hands slid down to mind.

I felt my face burn with embarrassment. "Why?" I asked, looking away. He cocked his head to the side. "Why do you love me?" I asked.

His eyes widened for a second, and he sighed, thinking. "Because you helped save me from the darkness. You're a beautiful person, though not just physically. The way you don't let people get to you when they say that they pity you because you're blind, it… It amazes me. And-"

I put my index finger to his lips in order to make him stop talking. "Alright, I get it." I said with a smile. "And… thank you." My smile changed to a grin.

The silver haired male smiled back at me. "Anytime." He murmured, kissing my finger before removing it and leaning in to kiss me cheek then my lips, resting a hand on the back of my head to pull me closer. His kisses always felt so warm, though somehow always managed to send chills down my spine. I closed my eyes and rested my fingertips on his cheeks, arching my back. I pulled away in order to breathe, smiling when I felt his forehead on mine. I placed my hands on his cheeks, my thumbs examining his face. "You're smiling." I observed, feeling his cheeks rise.

Riku then grinned, resting his hands over mine. He brushed some loose hair behind my ear. "You have no idea how much I love you…" He kissed my nose lightly, which made me giggle.

"Well, I'm glad." I moved my hands down to his chest, my hands rising whenever he inhaled. "I can feel your heeaaaaart." I teased in a musical way.

"Does that mean anything?"

"Yup." I grinned. "Means that you're alive, doesn't it?" I tilted my head slightly, my hands trailing over to where his heart was.

"I guess." Riku responded, before pressing his ear to my chest, where my heart was.

I yelped, not knowing what he was going. I could feel my face burn, looking at where he would be with wide eyes.

"Don't fret." He assured me, closing his eyes. After a few moments he lifted his head and I felt his hands snake behind my neck. I heard something click and I blinked. "What happened?" I asked, turning my head side to side.

"Don't worry; I just gave you a gift." He kissed my forehead again. He put something small and cold in my hands, and as I felt it, I could tell that it was a locket. "Why did you get this for me?"

He ignored my question. "Can you tell what it says?" He asked.

I shook my head. I heard a chuckle and hair swish, then a whisper.

"Love you; always."

I smiled weakly and rested my hands over his heart once again. "Love you too." I murmured.

"So tell me." The silver hair youth shifted to that he was in front of me, resting his elbows on his knees and propping his head up with his palms. "What's it like to be blind again?"

"Darkness surrounds me." I answered with a small shrug. "But I won't let it take over me don't worry." I grinned to show that I meant it. I could feel he was frowning at me because of the silence that followed. "What are you thinking?" I asked to break the silence.

A few moments passes before he answered. "H… Why did you let the darkness consume you?" He finally asked.

I sighed. "There was a bad alarm that ended with an explosion. Since I looked right at it…I lost my vision." I crossed my arms at him.

He snaked his hands into mine. "Family?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Died when I was born." I lowered my head. He was frowning again, and I didn't like it. "But you, Sora and Kairi are my family now." I nussled my nose against his, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't really remember anything before meeting you three anymore." I lied. "I mean after all, so many things have happened." I heard him stand up and, to my surprise; he pulled me up as well. He then swung his arm under my knees and pulled me up to his chest, now carrying me bridal style. "Wh-where are you taking me?" I demanded, though I stuttered.

"Home."

My eyes widened. "Yours, I'm assuming?" I asked, considering I had no home on the small island.

"What made you think that?" Riku asked with a smirk in his voice. "Of course mine. My mom's fine with it, anyway." He said, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"With what?" My voice was colder than I wanted it to be.

"Staying at my place, duh. You'll have to sleep with me since we don't have a guest room." He rested his chin on the crown of my head.

"Or you could sleep on the floor." I smirked, crossing my arms.

"Hahaha." He laughed at me sarcastically.

"I'm fine with it as long as you don't snore." I teased, hearing a door open and Riku shouting his arrival. There was a squeal of delight, and I can only assume his mother came in. Riku set me back on my feet.

"Riku, sweetie!" His mother giggled, hugging the boy happily before turning to me. "Is this Yvaine?" She asked.

I nodded briskly. I heard her gasp and I sighed. "I'm blind; I know."

Riku's arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Isn't she cute?" He asked and I heard his mother giggle when my face burned red. "Riku, you're embarrassing her, poor thing. Well," She clasped her hands together. "You two should head off to bed. It's late and you have a big day tomorrow." She kissed Riku's cheek before kissing mine. "Just ask if you need anything, alright?" She asked and I could only nod.

"Or I'll get kitchen bitch here to get me anything." I nudged his side playfully.

He sighed. "Let's get you some clothes.' His hand snuck into mind again and he pulled me into his room.

I felt him gently shove me onto his bed, and I fell back, smiling lightly.

"You'll have to wear my clothes since my mom's tiny." He chucked a shirt and sweat jeans at me, which I somehow caught. I nodded, standing up and being pushed into his bathroom. I quickly changed and felt around for the doorknob, though the door was suddenly opened and I was pulled out, pushed against a wall between his bed and the wall. "What's going on?" I asked, only to be shushed by Riku.

"Stay quiet." He hissed in my head. His hands were pressed against the wall on either side of my head, his lips next to me left ear. "My father's home and he's drunk. I don't want you to meet him." His voice was barely a whisper. "Try and calm down, will you?" He asked, and then I noticed how hard my heart was beating.

"S-sorry." I muttered, taking deep, quiet breaths. It somehow slowed, only to skip a beat when the door slammed open. Riku's hand cupped over my mouth and we waited before the door closed again and a man shouted something I couldn't make out. I struggled under him and pulled his hand off my mouth.

"Sorry." He apologized, standing up and pulling me up with him. "The shirt's a bit too big, but that's the smallest one." He pulled the neck hole back up over my shoulder.

"Or maybe I'm trying to seduce you." I said bluntly.

He stifled a laugh. "Riiiight." He nodded a little. "How about…" He pushed be back down onto his bed, lying down next to me. "We get some sleep?" He finished with a quiet yawn.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, have it your way." I said, plopping down next to him. "No covers?"

"Body heat is the best." He teased.

"Pssh, yeah right." I searched for the covers, pulling them up to my shoulders. "It can get really 'effen cold. So body head isn't gonna cover it." I covered my head, quickly changing the subject. "I'm gonna reek of Riku!" I squealed, twisting around. "Your scent is flooding meee!" I fell off his bed with a yelp, followed by a giggle.

Riku laughed as well. "You're so dumb." He chuckled as he tugged be back onto his bed again. "Yve?" He asked when I didn't move. He pulled down the covers of sheets to see me playing dead. "What happened?" He asked.

"Your scent killed me." I replied without opening my eyes.

He chuckled again. "Good or bad way?"

"….Dead people don't talk."

"They don't breathe either." He commented, poking my cheek.

I held my breath.

He laughed. "Am I going to have to perform CPR on you?"

I didn't respond.

I heard him chuckle once again, then the bed shifted and I could feel Riku's soft breath on my face. "Don't die on me, Yve!" He said playfully, plugging my nose before pressing his lips against mine, breathing air into my lungs.

I then squeaked and tried to push him off of me. He continued the fake CPR for a few seconds before pulling away. "You alive now?" He asked with a smirk.

"I still reek of Riku." I mumbled.

He was smirking. "So you're still dead?"

"Nope." I quickly answered, sitting up and turning in his direction. I heard a high pitched mew and looked to the door. "A cat?" I asked.

"Amunite!" Riku exclaimed with a groan.

"Amunite?" I echoed with a giggle, before hearing the cat leap onto the bed and rub up against me. "I didn't expect you to have any pets." I giggled. "What's he look like?" I asked, petting it's head.

"Black fur and amber eyes." I felt him scoot closer to me. "Found him a few days ago. He followed me around but whenever I tried picking him up he became very hostile." He smirked.

"Hm." I squeezed the kitten's cheeks playfully and it mewed in response.

He looked at me and smiled lightly, kissing the top of my head. "Love you, always." He murmured, rubbing the shoulder that his arm was wrapped around.

Amunite meowed again; though this time he jumped off and walked away.

"He left." My hands dropped to my lap.

Riku huffed lightly as a laugh. "No duh." He said, moving his hand to the top of my head, combing my hair with his fingers.

"Cut me some slack, I'm fuckin' blind." I giggled a little, though cut myself off with a yawn.

"Time for bed." He said, pushing me down onto my back and laying down beside me.

I squeaked as a response, not exactly knowing where we were on his bed. I reached an arm up to see that we weren't that far away from the bed. "Are you actually tired?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"Yawn." I said, and he did, covering his mouth. "See?" I giggled lightly.

"No fair." He said, wrapping his arms around me in a protective way.

"Pssh. Since when am I 'fair'?" I brushed my nose against his, my hands resting on his chest. "Now go to bed." I ordered, kissing the boy's chin.

He chuckled again, resting his chin on the top of my head. "Alright." He gave in, sighing.

My ear was pressed against his left breastplate, listening to his heartbeat. I waited a few minutes until I heard his breathing calm down and I knew he fell asleep. "Night, love." I muttered, sighing. "I don't know how much longer I have before I have to leave you, anyway…." I looked up at him before falling asleep myself.


	3. Boy Trouble

I woke to a loud crash and a frustrated exclaim. I felt Riku sigh as he woke up as well, groaning as he shifted, his arms tightening around me. "R-Riku, shouldn't you see what's going on?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

He groaned again before releasing me and pushing himself up. "Probably my mom being clumsy…" He grumbled, stretching. He then stood up and walked into the doorway. "Stay here." He commanded, and I simply nodded before he left, leaving me alone in his room.

"Not like I know where anything is anyway…" I pushed myself up as well, his shirt falling over my shoulder again. I remained along until I heard his door band against the wall which made me jump, then his footsteps were out of rhythm as he walked in. "You alright?" I asked as he sat in front of me.

"Define alright…" He said through clenched teeth.

I scooted closer to him and cupped his cheeks in my hands, noticing that his left one was swollen. "Did someone hit you?" I asked, my eyes widening slightly.

He quickly pulled my hands down, though I felt his right hand had some cuts. "The hell, Riku?" I demanded, my eyebrows knitting. Then he just let go of my hands, scooting back.

"It's normal for my dad to do this." His head was turned away from mine.

I pulled on his chin so that he was looking at me. "Normal?" I echoed, now looking mad.

He sighed. "I just…" His shoulders slumped.

I turned my head away and dropped my hand. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I said, petting his hair. I heard him sigh again, so I rested my chin on his shoulder, only to feel him nudge me gently with his head. "What do you have planned today?" I asked, still petting his hair.

He responded with a grunt. "Maybe Sora has the gummi ready." He nudged my head again.

"Let's go check!" I then exclaimed, pulling my head off of his shoulders and pumping my fists.

The boy chuckled, then stood up and pulled me onto his back again. I wrapped my arms around his neck loosely and rested my head on his shoulder again, giggling happily.

"Sora!" He shouted as we came close to the brunette and the red-head from what I remember. Riku put me back on the ground and I walked around him so that I was at his side, then jumped behind him when I heard a yelp and something – or someone – fall off of what sounded like a tree. "Are you alright?" I asked to whoever as they got back up.

"Fine, fine." I heard Sora said. "Just shocked me." I couldn't help but giggle and I felt his glare on me. I held my hands up in defense. "The Gummi ready?" I asked, hearing Riku walk over to his friend.

"Yeah, should be. You two ready to go?" I nodded, before feeling arms wrap around me. "Yvaine! Aren't you excited?" That was Kairi's voice.

"I just hope I can see in the other worlds." I replied as the other female pulled me onto the ship and set me down on a couch-like backseat.

Riku sat next to me, with Kairi sitting in the front with Sora in the drivers seat. "Everything set." He said as he turned it on. I felt the floor shake and I couldn't help but grin at the thought of being able to see again. I felt the seat buckle, picturing Riku doing that for me. "Thanks." I muttered, feeling his head rest on my shoulder. "Take a nap." I told him quietly, before feeling him cuddle up to me. Before I knew he, I fell asleep as well. That is, until Sora shook me, shouting my name.

"What?" I demanded, sitting up. The air smelled different, so I assumed we were in another world.

"We landed in Twilight Town." Kairi replied, a grin in her voice. "Why are your eyes closed?" She asked.

"I don't wanna open them just yet." I replied. I waited a moment before opening my eyes. I took a sharp breath, seeing my three friends sitting around me. I looked at Sora and Kairi. "You two are so cute." I said with a grin, making their faces turn red in unison. I hesitated at first, but I rolled my head back to see Riku's face hovering over mine. "Hey handsome." I said, examining his delicate features.

He smirked. "Morning beautiful." He replied

I stared at the smirk. "I knew your smile was beautiful…" I commented, before looking into his turquoise eyes. "Just like those." I added, feeling tears well up. "Even better in color." I couldn't help but gaze into them.

"Hey, what about us?" Sora demanded, flailing his arms which received a whack in the back of the head from Kairi.

I couldn't help but giggle at them. "I already said you're cute; what else do you need?" I asked, my hands falling from Riku's face. I turned to look at Sora, before blinking as I saw his sapphire eyes. "Whoa…" I muttered, resting my hands on his face for a moment, before stretching his cheeks.

"Hey!" The boy exclaimed, laughing as he pulled my hands away and rubbed his cheeks.

I laughed. "You should've expected that." I winked playfully at him. "Alright, old on." I rested my hands on his cheeks once again, gazing into his deep blue eyes. I was so intrigued by them that I lost myself in them, and snapped out of it when Kairi sneezed. "Ah, sorry." I rubbed the back of my head. "Blue's always been my favorite color." I grinned nervously. I turned my head to Kairi, and my head fell to the side. "You're really pretty, you know that?" She blushed, and that made me grin. I turned back to Sora and starred at his eyes once again, before blinking and shaking my eyes quickly. "Sorry." I muttered once again, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "It's my favorite shade, too." I sighed.

Sora grinned, then snapped his fingers as a thought came to his mind. "Let's get some ice cream!" He cheered, jumping up with his fists pumped.

I looked up at Sora, then yelped when Riku suddenly pulled me up as he stood "Go on ahead, we'll catch up." Riku winked at his brunette friend, who nodded, and walked away with Kairi's hand in his.

I turned to Riku with a raised eyebrow. "What're you—" I yelped again when Riku suddenly pulled me away in another direction, heading for a dark allyway. "Riku, wha—" I was shoved against the wall roughly. "The fuck, man?" I demanded, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. But when I saw how angry he looked, I fell quiet, shrinking my head back a little. "What?" I asked, and his response was him crushing his lips against mine. I didn't take a breath and was running out. I put my hands to his chest and tried to push him off, but that made him move closer to me, my back pressing against the wall and his chest pressing against mine. He pulled away and moved down to my jaw, giving me time to breathe, and moved down to my jaw. My hands were shaking. He rested a hand against mine in a comforting way. That is, until he roughly grabbed my wrists with his one hand and pulling them above my head, his other hand sliding down to my hip, then sneaked its way up my shirt a little. "R-…." My chest was heaving and I couldn't breathe normally. His lips moved back to mine and it difficult to breathe, again. I moved my head to the side, separating us. "Riku!" I exclaimed weakly when his hand sneaked up a little more, now resting on my upper waist.

Finally, he stopped. His right hand slid out of my shirt and he pulled away from me, though my wrists were still locked in his grip. He was starring at me with an unexplainable gaze. I was starring back with a terrified look, my lips agape as if I was going, trying, to say something.

"Stop staring at him." He said in a strict tone to me. His gaze showed that he meant it, too. "You're making me mad."

I only nodded because I was still catching my breath. That, and I couldn't really speak. My head shrunk back a little, afraid that he's start up again.

He sighed, almost in a proud way. "Alright, let's catch up with the other two." He released my wrists and intertwined out fingers, pulling me along. His grip tightened a little when we finally met them.

I allowed him to pull me along, my head bowed. Kairi handed me a popsicle, but I shook my head. Her eyebrows knit. "This is the only place we can try it…" She commented, blinking once.

"Maybe later…" I mumbled, refusing to look at her.

She now knew that something was up, but I didn't dare look at her. Or any of them, for that matter. I didn't want to look at Riku because of what just happened, and Sora because Riku might get mad againl so I just kept my gaze at the floor.

"Yve, let's go shopping." Kairi said in a happy tone. Great. Now she wants to talk. I lifted my head a little to look at her and nodded nervously. I wanted to get away from Riku. I need some girl time, too. She took hold of my other hand and waved to the boys. When she started to walk away I quickly followed, gripping her hand in return. "Olette showed me a cute clothes store around here somewhere." She smiled sweetly at me but I didn't see it, because my head was still down. I didn't say anything to the boys a quick look over my shoulder. Could feel Riku staring at my back, but for once I didn't really care.

We arrived at the store and Kairi squealed happily. "C'mon!" She pulled me into the store, and being as clumsy as I was, I stumbled at first. It was cute, but I'm not a 'cute' type of girl, considering I'm still wearing Riku's clothes. Ew.

Kairi pulled out a short, black, long sleeved no hood jacket and handed it to me. "Here." She said, looking for a shirt to go with it. We couldn't find one, so we settled on a plain, white tank top. She found black skinny jeans, black books, and an awesome studded belt that was tilted on my hips. I still wore my pinky and thmb ring, as well as the glove that went up to my shoulder. I couldn't take it off, since it was pretty much burned onto my skin. It was skin tight and ended with a golden ring around my right middle finger. She found me a large silver bracelet that crossed another one. Kind of looks like the rings that circle an atom, forgot the name. I looked at my clothes and nodded approvingly. "You know what I like." I said, before feeling for the locket Riku gave me. I couldn't. "My necklace!" I exclaimed, looking through Riku's clothes to see if it was in there.

Kairi giggled at me. "I have it right here, don't worry." She said, slipping it back around my neck.

I sighed in relief, touching it tenderly.

"Why did you seem so uneasy when you came back with Riri?" She asked, pulling me along to the cashier.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Riri? What kind of nickname is that?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Don't try and dodge it." She said sternly. "Nothing bad, right?" She asked, taking the bag of Riku's clothes. When I didn't reply, of even look at her, she gripped my shoulders. "What did he do?" She demanded.

I took her hands off my shoulders, surprised at the concern in her voice. "Nothing…..that bad. Just…" I took a deep breath. "Nothing." I shrugged. "It's not that big a deal." I muttered, walking out of the shop.

I knew she knew that I didn't want to talk about it, so she didn't say anything for walk back. She did, however, take my hand.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Friends can hold hands, too." She said quietly. "Ah, Riku, Sora!" She exclaimed, waving our hands at them.

My head snapped up for a second before looking away again. I could feel Riku's gaze once again, looking at my new clothes. That made me feel uncomfortable. I let go of Kairi's hands and crossed my arms. "Disapprove?" I asked with a raised hour.

He snorted. "Two hours and you come up with that?" He asked. I drove my fist into his gut in return. "Shut it." I growled. "We went to other stores." I snapped, taking a bad from Kairi's grip and walking off, heading for the closest Inn. I could hear the three following me, Riku being almost right next to me. Sora bought a two room bedroom. I hoped I got to share with Kairi…

"You two lovebirds can share." Sora said with a grin.

Fuck…

I didn't hear Riku object and I thought that it would be a good time to apologize. I pulled the bag up to my chest and turned my head away. "Whatever." I muttered.

Sora grinned. "Alright, see you two later!" He took Kairi's hand in his and they jogged off, leaving Riku and I in the hallway alone.

I didn't even look at him. I simply walked into the room and set the bag down next to one side of the bed and taking off my jacket and bracelet. "What's in the bag?" I heard Riku asked. I didn't respond for a second. I turned my head slightly to look at him out of the corner of my eye. "You'll find out when I'm not mad at you." I turned my back to him again. I looked down at it for a while, then pushed it under the bed. "Time for bed." I fell onto my side and cupped my hands under the pillow.

Riku chuckled. "Gyoi." He said, laying on his side as well, pulling the covers over my shoulder. "Night." He whispered, kissing my temple before laying down, his back to mine.

I felt years well up again. But this time, they spilled over.


	4. Nights

I woke up to what I thought was a thunder clap. 'Maybe it's nothing…' I thought. I sat up and turned to see Riku in the same position as when we fell asleep. More thunder crashed and I flinched, gripping the sheets. _Boom_. I then quickly hid under the bed, something I always did whenever a storm was going on. I covered my ears and gripped my hair, now trembling. Gaah, fuck thunder. I've hated it since I can remember, and I don't know why. It's not loud noises, either. I'm fine with fireworks and stuff, just…. Not thunder. I hated showing weaknesses, too. They never help.

I opened my eyes for a second to see Riku's hand draped over the end of the bed. He flexed his fingers when another thunderclap sounded, and I bolted out from under the bed, quickly hiding under the covers with him. His arms wrapped around me and he covered my ears, kissing the top of my head. I could hear him humming a song, and the sound of thunder faded as I concentrated. His hum was low and so relaxing… I gripped his shirt and buried my face in his chest, hearing his heart beat again. The sound of his humming faded and I knew he was asleep again. His heart was such a calming sound that it eventually lulled me to sleep as well.


	5. Duel or Brawl?

Someone was shouting my name, but when I tried to open my eyes, they wouldn't open. I couldn't move my body, either.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Sora's voice had concern buried in it.

"Did she look tired at all when you two went shopping yesterday?" That was Riku, and he sounded more worried than Sora.

"Nu-uh." Kairi answered with a shake of her head. "She seemed fine to me."

"I did see her stumble a lot when we were goin' up or down stairs, though." Sora commented, and I felt his gloved hand on my forehead. Someone put their fingers on my throat, checking for a pulse. '_Moron, I'm breathing'._ I thought, sighing. "Maybe it's a side effect of her bring able to see in this world." The brunette shrugged.

"But that's just dumb. What kind of side effect is that?" Riku growled. His arms were around me and he gently pulled me off of the bed. I didn't know where we were going, and I didn't like it. But since it was Riku, I knew he wouldn't do something foolish.

"Lead me to the nearest doctor." He told his two friends.

"We don't know where one is…" Kairi muttered, sounding like she was guilty of something. "Ask the innkeeper." She took a step back and the floor creaked slightly.

Riku let out a long sigh, walking out and down some halls and down a flight of stairs, stopping once he was what sounded to be the inn with people chatting idly. "Miss, can you help our friend?" He put on his polite act whenever he spoke to older women.

"My my, what happened?" I could feel her eyes on me which made me feel awkward.

"We don't know. She was fine yesterday, but now she won't wake up." I could hear the concern in Riku's voice as clear as daylight. "She's gonna be fine, though… right?" His grip on me tightened a little and my arm jerked. Now he was looking at me and he was led to a spare rooming. He set me down on either a couch or a bed, and his fingers brushed my cheek.

"Riku, we're gonna go get supplies." Sora said quietly, before he and Kairi left him. I heard him nod to his friend from his hair shuffling a little, then his elbow was on the edge of the bed, his head resting on his palm as his other hand stroked some loose hair behind my ear.

"You really care about this girl, don't you?" I heard the woman ask.

Riku had a small smile in his voice. "More than you could ever know." His hand glided to my hair and he started to comb it. "Yve, please wake up…" He muttered, leaning in to kiss my forehead, temple, and cheek. "Please be alright." His forehead rested on mine, his skin warm. I tried so hard to move, to tell him that I was alright, or to do any type of sign to let him know, but all I could do is stir slightly. His forehead lifted off of mine and his hand stroked my hair again. "Yve?" he asked quietly.

"Ri…" My voice was barely a whisper, but I knew he heard me.

"Yve, you're okay." He laughed weakly and kissed my forehead repeatedly. I nodded, though it was more of a small twitch.

"I was so worried." He chuckled in a strange way, as if he was about to cry.

"Wuss." My eyes barely opened, but it was wide enough so that I could see him. He laughed weakly, and I felt his lips on mine. I was still weak enough that I couldn't react to him. "Did…gift?" My voice faded slightly so those were the only things he caught.

He smiled. "Yes, I'll always keep it with me." I smiled back as he pulled out his gift, which was a kitten plushie that looked almost exactly like Amunite, minus her markings, or from what he told me about the kitten. "Where'd you get it?" He asked, his gaze drifting from the kitten toy to me. I was too tired to speak so I shook my head. "Later." I breathed, my eyes closing.

"Night, love." I heard him whisper to me. I heard footsteps and the innkeeper asking Riku something quietly that I couldn't hear, but I heard him say yes and fabric rustle so I could only assume that she brought him a blanket. I wanted to open my eyes, but being as tired as I was, I couldn't. So I tried to fall asleep. I did, but only for about two hours after Riku did. And I only slept for what I thought was three hours. I felt strangely healed, though my heart hurt. Maybe the years of fighting the darkness in my heart has side effects. Not like a little heart pain is a side effect. I mean, everyone gets that, right?

I was able to open my eyes again, and I saw Riku resting his head on crossed arms on the edge of the bed. Cute. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. I looked to see how deep he was in his sleep. "Riku…" I muttered, resting my hand on his cheek. "Riku…" I repeated. He stirred a little, his head turning.

I giggled quietly and pulled him onto the bed while trying not to wake him. Success. I laid his head down on my lap then brought the blanket up to his shoulders. "You're so cute…" I muttered with a smile.

The silver haired youth stirred again, though now he opened his eyes, blinking in order to get adjusted to the light. "Yvaine? You're awake…?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

I nodded. "Too bad I woke you up. You looked so cute when you were asleep." I teased with another giggle. I giggled even more when I saw him blush. "Then again, you're always cute." I nuzzled my nose lightly against his.

He smirked. "Where are Sora and Kairi?"

I shrugged. "Haven't seem 'em yet. Should we go look?" I asked, cupping my hands on his cheeks. He gave me a brisk nod then sat up, ruffling his hair. "Come on." He said as he stood up, pulling me off with him. When we walked out of the room, I heard the innkeeper gasp. "Sweetie, you're up!" She squealed.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" I asked, turning to her with a confused look.

"Why, you've been asleep for about a week." Her eye brows knit.

My jaw dropped slightly in disbelief. "A week? You're kidding, right?" She shook her head at my question, and that made me take a few steps back.

"And this lad stayed by your side the entire time." She went on. "Young love is so cute nowadays." She smiled.

I fell back, only to be caught by Riku. My 'gloved' hand went to my forehead. "A week…" I repeated, my tone showing that I didn't believe it. "What happened while I was out?" I asked, looking up at the Islander.

"Sora locked this world again, and after that we only waited for you to wake up." He answered, looking back down at me. "They must be getting more supplies now." He looked back up, putting me on my feet. I took a deep, shaky breath, my legs as shaky as my breath.

"It didn't…. _feel_ that long…" I murmured. I couldn't believe that I was out for a _week_ when it only seemed like a few hours to me.

"Oh, sweetie, it feels that way to everyone." The innkeeper waved her hand slightly at me.

I looked up at her and sighed. "Sorry about this…" I looked down at my feet in shame. Riku put his hands on my shoulders reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it dear. It's enough to know you're fine.' Her smile changed to a grin. "You two take care.' She waved her hand again as a sign of dismissal.

I gave her a nod and started to walk, only to stumble into Riku, who caught me again. "Sorry…" I breathed, glancing up to the boy.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it, love." He said, only to wrap his arms around my waist and swing me over his shoulder.

I yelped in response, my right hand perched on his shoulder and my left arm dangling. "The hell?" I exclaimed, my eyes wide with surprise.

"You obviously can't walk, so I have to carry you." He shrugged as if it was nothing.

"I _stumbled_! That doesn't mean I can't walk!" I shouted, kicking a leg.

"It's easier this way." Riku sighed before setting me down on a bench and getting on a knee in front of me. "Would you prefer me to carry you bridal style?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He rested his hands on my knees, his teasing smirk dawning on his lips.

"It won't look like you kidnapped me, right?" I commented with a shrug.

He was looking at me as if he was pondering that fact. He then turned his back to me, holding his arms out. "Hop on." He sternly instructed.

I blinked twice before obeying, hopping onto his back, my arms wrapping loosely around his neck. "Onward, Riku!" I pointed forward and grinned.

Riku got back on his feet with a small grunt. "Where do you think they are?" He asked when he was wrapping his arms around my thighs.

"How would I know? This is my first time here, remember?" I pinched his cheek playfully.

"Fine." He pulled his face away from my hand. "We should try the Usual Spot…" He said quietly, almost to himself. He started walking and we eventually got to a covered alleyway. There was chattering inside, and I could hear Sora's loud voice above the rest.

"Speak of the devil!" He exclaimed as we walked into the small room-like area.

"What'd you call me?" I pointed a warning finger at him.

He laughed. "Yvaine, this is Hayner," He motioned to a brown eyed boy with spiky, dirty blond hair who nodded to me as a greeting. "Pence," Next was an overweight brown haired boy who was happily licking away at a light blue Popsicle. "And Olette." The last person was a pretty, green eyed girl that was sitting next to Kairi.

I smiled weakly, hiding behind Riku when he put me down. "She's always shy at first." Riku said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. In return, I wrapped my arms around his waist and kept my gaze away from everyone.

He chuckled. "It's alright, Yve." He kissed the top of my head. "They're good people. Nothing's gonna happen to you." He rubbed my shoulder in a comforting way.

Glancing over to the three new people, I muttered a small 'good evening' to them and heard a giggle. I looked over to see the green eyed girl smiling sweetly at me. "Your name's Yvaine, right?" Her tone was quiet and gentle. She reminded me of Allyson, and she even looked like her; without the blue hair and purple eyes, anyway. When I nodded a little, Riku unwrapped my arms from around him and put his hands on my shoulders, now standing behind me.

Hayner was starring me down with his arms crossed. He gave me a brisk nod when my eyes met his, and I quickly looked back to Olette.

"Is it true that you used to be blind?" Pence asked when his Popsicle was gone.

I flinched, wondering just how much Sora has babbled to them. "Y…Yes." I glanced to Kairi who nodded reassuringly at me.

"What was it like?" He tilted his hand.

I shrugged. "Keep your eyes closed for a day and that's basically it."

Hayner scoffed. "You say it like it's nothing." My head shrunk back.

"Don't be so mean." Riku growled, walking over to the wall and sat on the floor, one leg straight and the left bent, propping his elbow up in the usual style. I sat next to him, his hand sneaking into mine.

"You two are dating? I thought you were realities…" Olette rubbed the back of her neck.

I shook my head. "No, no. His hair has a purple tint and mine's blue. That, and his eyes are bluer and mine are greener." I sighed. "Not like that's much of a difference…"

"It doesn't matter if you look like twins." Pence grinned at us, and I tucked some hair behind my hair embarrassingly.

Hayner sighed, hopping off of whatever he was sitting on and stretched. "You fight, Yvaine?" He asked, his hands resting on his hips.

I turned to the boy with a surprised look. "Yes, why?"

"I feel like sparring with someone that isn't those two." He nodded to Riku, then to Sora. "You up for it?" He asked, one eyebrow rising.

I glanced to Riku before nodding. "Let's go." I stood up and set my hands on my hips as well.

Hayner smirked. "Duel or brawl?" He asked as he led me to the sandlot.

I thought about my choices. I could fight just fine hand-to-hand, but I was trained to fight with my rod. "Duel." I decided. Back in my world, my original weapon was actually my magic, but most of it was taken away when I was sent here. It was either that or the memories of my mother.

"Fine, choose your weapon." There were three blue foam swords, but I already knew what my weapon was.

"Done." My rod was in my hand and I stood straight, getting ready to fight this boy. All of my attention was on him, since Her Majesty would consider it to be a disgrace if I lost to a boy like him. I was a soldier, and all he wanted to do was see if I was stronger than Sora or Riku.

He raised an eyebrow at my weapon, though said nothing. "You gonna give me your all?"

"Of course."

He smirked. "Alrighty then." Then he made the first attack.


	6. Romance and Cody

Panting heavily, I sent Hayner on his back, putting weight on his elbows underneath him. His weapon was out of his reach, making him at my mercy. "Dead." I panted, my rod poking his throat gently. I had a few bruises over my body and I could tell that my cheek was swollen due to a nasty elbow shot. "I believe we're…" My legs gave out on me and I fell backwards, then Kairi, Sora and Riku were running over to me, and Hayner's friends to him. My back was lifted off the grown and someone had two fingers pressing against my neck.

"I'm fine" I muttered, my head falling to back. One of the three kids lifted me off of the ground bridal style, then set me down on what felt like a bench. My eyes opened and I turned to the aquamarine eyes watching me. "I'm fine." I repeated, glad that my voice was stronger. Good. He raised an eyebrow at me, and then prodded one of my ribs.

"Það er sárt!" I exclaimed, my hand flying to my ribs.

Riku only smirked in reply. "Yeah, you're fine." Sarcasm was hanging heavily in his voice. He ran a hand through my hair gently. "Sora's gone to get an ice pack for your cheek. Cura." He held his hand over my stomach and I felt heat cover my body for a moment. I nodded my thanks and he proceeded to kiss to my forehead.

"I got one!" Sora's loud voice rang in my ears. I felt very cold fabric press against my swollen cheek.

"Fjandinn ..." I muttered as Riku lifted my head off of his lap and gently set it back down, then jogged over to Hayner.

"Why didn't you stop?" The Keyblade Master asked.

"I didn't want to lose, duh. It would be a disgrace to Her Majesty."

"You're so connected to her. Why? Didn't she treat you like a dog?" His eyebrows knit.

"She's my ruler; so I can't let her down." I sighed. "And believe it or not, she saved my life."

"Who saved your life?" Riku asked when he returned to us.

"Her Majesty. I'm gonna go get some ice cream." Sora stood up and ran over to Pence, who nodded. The two then ran off like children chasing a goose. I slowly sat up, my head ringing and my bruise stinging. I groaned, Riku's hand drifting to the back of my neck and he pulled me into a gentle kiss, which made my fingers rest on his jaw. My eyes closed and his hands rested on my waist, pulling me closer, though I pulled away once I remembered that we were in public.

He chuckled quietly at me. When I told him I wanted to check on Hayner, a flash of some angry emotion crossed his face before he nodded. He helped me to my feet and brought me over to the nearly knocked out lad. "Up for a rematch soon?" I heard him whisper. I could only smirk and nod. "Soon." I echoed.

"We should get him home." Pence said, asking Sora for help with pulling the boy onto his back, grunting as he did.

"Same here." Riku gave the two a farewell wave, and then basically dragged me away. He didn't pull me onto his back this time, so I could tell he was aggravated about me wanting to check up on Hayner. He wasn't even holding my hand, which was strange for him. I stuck my hands in my pockets and looked down at my feet, matching my rhythm with his. When we reached the hotel room I sat down on the bed with a sigh, tired from the fight. "You mad that I wanted to check up on Hayner?" I asked, leaning back and crossing my legs. He knew that I could tell if he was lying or not, but he denied it anyway.

"Don't lie to me, Riku." Since I already knew his answer, I changed my position so it was sort of seductive. "What's my punishment?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow to me. "Not really a punishment if you want it, but…" He walked over to me and leaned down to kiss me. My arms instantly hooked around his neck, with Riku carefully crawling over me, careful not breaking the kiss. My fingers entangled in the soft, silver layers of his hair, and he brushed his thumbs gently up and down my sides, caressing me as we kissed. I arched my back as Riku's lips suddenly left mine, kissing down my neck. His hot lips sheared against my pale skin.

I ached to feel his touch. It was like it was the only comfort. He could get through my aching heart and help repair it. He was the only thing that could make me feel like I'm not a doll you can mess around with. I felt his hands were all around me, with his touch innocent. His hands felt hot against my skin, especially the way they snaked under the bottom of my shirt, pressing against my hips and his fingers danced upward. His mouth found mind again, though this time it was open. I moaned slightly, wrapping my arms around his neck and brought his lips as close to mine as I could. His taste made me dizzy; it was so intoxicating. He was so warm… Wherever he touched, it burned, but not in a bad way. It was so hot, but so cold at the same time. His hands brushed against my bra before quickly turning back and setting on my hips again, the motion so quick that I thought I imagined it

My body fit against his almost perfectly. His lips broke away from mine, panting heavily as his lips pressed against the skin on my jaw. He pulled back again, his chest heaving from the lack of air. We stared at each other for a while, trying to catch our breath.

"Do…. Do you know when we're leaving?" I watched his expression change from love to question.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked, sitting on his knees with knit eyebrows.

"Isn't it obvious?" I sat up as well, leaning on my palms. "I need to see other worlds and get what Her Majesty wants me to get."

"But you don't want to do this, right? This 'mission' of yours..." He raised a silver eyebrow.

Pausing, I looked down and away for a moment. "I do if I want my freedom." I turned my gaze back to him to see a pillow thrown at my face. My reflexes snapped in and I caught it with an outstretched arm.

"You moron! Can't you see that you are free?" He exclaimed, flicking my ear, which he knew I hated. "You can't let her control you like that!" He whapped the back of my head, but when he was pulling his hand back, I grabbed his wrist and yanked it outward, thrusting my free palm into his chest.

"You mean like you do? Riku, she took me in, knowing that I'm a thief!"

"Is that your fault? You didn't know that the man you claimed to be your father had that career." He bared his teeth in a growl.

"Don't call him that! He wasn't – isn't – my father!" I snapped, baring my teeth as well with a growl forming within my throat. "Her Majesty taught me everything I know. Sure, I learned violin and piano by myself, but she gave me a home when the old man rightfully died!"

"And then she treated you like shit!"

"For a good reason! I was a murderer, I still am! How do you think Cody came to be?" Well, the romantic moment was completely dead now.

"She came because of your anger!"

"Yeah, and I'm feeling some of that right now!" I stood up and started for the door, but he grabbed my wrist again and he pushed me to the wall. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" He demanded with his voice low and controlling.

"You see, there you go again. You think you can control everything I do, but you're completely wrong! You're two years younger than me, Riku! I should be the one to control _you!_" Anger was burning in his stare. "Now release me." I commanded, yanking my wrist out of his grip. I noticed his hands clenched, but I didn't expect him to punch the wall in front of me. I instantly froze, my eyes wide with alarm, and now fear.

"You're not going anywhere." He seemed like a complete different person. He seemed almost like Cody. His voice was low and dangerous, taking me a while to snap out of whatever I was in.

"Are you gonna stop me?" I went under his arm, and when he grabbed my wrist again, I spun around and slapped him as hard as I could. It was pretty hard, considering how he fell to the ground. "You can't even stand up for yourself! Is the darkness still consuming your body that you can't stay standing?" I shouted, before turning around on my heel and storming out of the room. I heard him start to throw a tantrum, and the main reason I could tell was because things were crashing. I expected tears to start streaming down my face, but instead there was anger burning up inside of me.

_Let me out…_

I stopped outside of the hotel, gripping my jacket that was still in my hand. I wondered what she would do; then again, I couldn't really care less. I held my arms out, my head falling back. "You win."

-Cody's P.O.V.-

Stretching my arms above my head after putting on the small black jacket, I heard some vertebrae crack. "Ah, fresh air." I took a deep breath, a smirk coming up onto my face. I started walking down some random alleyway, and then stopped when I heard someone shout 'hey' at me. I turned around to see Seifer walk up to me. "What do you want?" I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

"You get in a fight with your boy toy?"

"What if I did?" My stare was cold.

He chuckled. "You don't have anyone to protect you now, do you?" He started walking up to me, hands on either side of my head as he loomed before me.

"From what? A self-absorbed prick like you?" I looked over his body. "Big threat." I raised my hands at the sarcasm. "I'm shaking in my boots."

His only response was a growl at my insult, pulling back his fist and slamming it into my face. I showed no emotion of pain, though I did back away from him and grip my face. I looked up at him with my new crimson eyes and he raised an eyebrow, backing up out of shock. "Red eyes? You some type of freak or something?" He looked at me with disgust, one of the number one things I hated.

"Just beat me up already, asshole." My hand was still covering my face, and when he punched my stomach, my hand released my face and my fingers were around his neck. I lifted him off of the ground, shoving him into the wall, my expression now changing to insanity. "You know…" I muttered, looking closer at him. "I haven't killed anyone in a while. And you're cute enough…" I turned his face side to side, though my hand was yanked back by Rei.

"That's was low, you know!" He exclaimed.

"Do I care?" My eyebrow arched. He let me go and I quickly got into a fighting stance.

Seifer scoffed. "You're gonna fight both of us?"

I glared at the two boys, thinking whether or not I could actually take them on. Lifting my two hands, I curled my fingers twice. "Bring it, bitch."


	7. Cat Fight

Trying to curl my fingers alone was enough work, even though it was nearly impossible. Great. Just what did Cody _do_to me? I could barely open my eyes, but I couldn't see where I was. All I knew is that it was dark, so it must be really late. Peachy. I probably got beat up again, since I could feel that my hands were palm up and that one leg was bent at awkward angles. I most likely had a ton of cuts and bruises on my body. I felt really warm, or it could be the blood that covered my face. I was so tired that all I wanted to do was sleep, but I also wanted Riku by my side again. That and I was already passed out for a while due to this. It wasn't me who had that argument with him, but it was at the same time, because of Cody.

I heard a familiar gasp, and when my head fell to the side with a small grunt of effort, I saw Kairi running over and leaning over me. "Sora, I found her!" There were loud footsteps next and now Sora was by Kairi, looking at me with eyebrows pulled together. "Riku didn't do this, did he?" He looked at Kairi again who shook her head. "Probably Seifer. Do you think Riku's worried?" She looked to the cobalt blue eyed boy.

"Probably. She's been missing for about a day or two. That and he was pretty beat up when I left him." He pulled me onto his back, my arms dangling over his shoulders, along with my head leaning against his. "Let's just get her back." He started walking and sooner or later I heard a door open and someone standing up.

"What the hell happened?" Riku's voice sounded so worried and it made my heart sink. He took me from Sora's back and set me on the bed, my head on his lap. At least he's over the argument.

"I don't know... Kairi thinks it was Seifer…" He noticed Riku was no longer paying attention, so he took Kairi's hand and the two left, closing the door behind them.

"Yvaine…." He held his hand over my stomach. "Cura." He started to heal most of my bruises, cuts and whatever else was on my body. I stirred slightly, slowly opening my eyes. "You're not mad?" I asked, my voice weak.

He shook his head. "I was way out of line." He kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry, Yvaine. If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't have happened…" He pulled me up into his arms, hugging me tightly yet gently against his chest. "I won't do anything like that again."

"Okay, we both know that's a lie." I laughed weakly and breathlessly. "Fighting's a normal thing for us." My head rolled back before I lifted it again to look at him, my eyelids dropping a little. "Are we leaving soon?"

He nodded. "We planned on leaving as soon as we found you." He scooped me up into his arms and walked out the door where Sora and Kairi were waiting. "Let's go." He walked past them, heading for the Gummi ship. Turning my head to the couple, I mouthed a 'thank you' to them, a look of guilt on my face. Sora nodded and Kairi smiled sweetly at me. "Here it is." Sora pointed past me to the red, yellow and orange ship that was waiting for us.

Riku set me down on the couch and laid his head down on my lap, getting ready to fall asleep, or so I thought. When we took off, he opened his eyes again and gazed at me with his teal eyes. "I forgot you might be blind in the next world." He muttered, so low I could barely hear him over the engine. Lucky for me I could read lips.

"Point being?" I asked, looking at him with my steel/teal eyes. He sighed. "Do you want me to look at you all I can with the time left?" I was smirking, and he smirked back at me.

"Yeah, pretty mu—" I cut him off by pressing my lips against his, my hands gliding to his face to carefully hold it.

"You fool. Your image is engraved into my brain. I knew what you looked like when I was blind. I could see your cheeks, your hair, yours lips, and your eyes." My fingers rested on whatever I said, though they stayed on his lips. "I could tell how handsome you are, even without sight." I kissed his nose before his lips again.

"Um… You two might wanna buckle up. Seems like we might make a crash landing." Sora called from the front seat, and I could already see the world. There was a big triangle-like rock and I instantly remembered the name. The Pride Lands.

Looking down, I noticed Riku was not sitting up, his arms protectively around me. I could now see the ground and my head crashed against the back as we plummeted into the ground. I yelped and felt my body change, probably into the other form. Riku's arms released me and Sora or Kairi were no longer in their seats. I got up to my feet, not realizing I had four, at least I can still see. Examining my surroundings, it looked like an oasis, but before I got a lot of detail, I heard a scream and a meerkat quickly running away from the scene.

"Wait!" I yowled, running after him. "I'm not gonna hurt you!" I shouted. "I don't eat meat!" The creature then stopped and whirled around to face me.

I skidded to a stop before we collided. "Have you seen any other lions around? I seemed to have—"

"Don't eat meat? Are you insane, kid?"

I blinked in surprise at the animal. "No. I just don't find it appetizing." I shrugged.

"Kid…" The animal leaned on my paw, sneering at me. "We're gonna get along swimmingly."

I stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Not if you keep calling me, 'kid', we're not." I growled at him, lowering my head to his level, pulling my lips back into a fearsome snarl. "My name is Yvaine."

He raised his hands defensively. "Hey, alright. I'm Timon, and my buddy Pumbaa's over there." He pointed behind him with his thumb to a red warthog cowering in fear behind a bush. "It's okay, Pumbaa! She's like us!" He called over his shoulder.

The pig came out from his horrible hiding spot and starred at me. "Say, doesn't she kind of remind you of Sora?" He asked, walking up to me with a tilted head. This pig smelled worse than I thought he would.

"You know Sora?" I exclaimed with wide eyes. "You haven't seen him, have you?"

Timon nodded briskly. "Yeah, but he hasn't visited for a while." He crossed his arms.

"I came with him! With Kairi and Riku, too!"

"So the kid's here again? Knowing him, he probably went off to see Simba."

Simba…. That's their king. "I have to go find him! Thank you for your help!" I took off for who-knows-where. Hopefully, I could get there before night comes along… I haven't even seen what I look like. I saw a pond nearby, so I ran over to it, even though it wasn't really the clearest lake, I could still see what I looked like.

I had somewhat clean silver fur with my off-blue eyes. I was still thin, only now it was more noticeable. Peachy keen. I sat down and starred at myself. I looked more like a Lynx than a lion. But hey, I was still pretty damn cute. I looked up and saw how late it already was, so I stood, stretched, and then turned my head side to side. I need to find a place to sleep safely. I took off again until I reached the entrance/exit, looking at how open the Savannah was. That clearly wasn't a safe area, so I turned around and headed back, crouching under a bush.

Hearing rustling, I scooted back, hiding the best I could. But the predator could still see me, because he lunged at me, shoving me out of the bush. I hissed at the attacker, my ears pinning. I quickly retaliated and once he was on top of me, I kicked him with my back paws, knocking him into the lake. "Don't even try!" I hissed.

The foe got to their feet and hissed back at me, baring their teeth in a snarl. They then quickly pinned me to the ground, and I found myself starring into familiar forest blue eyes. "Riku?" My ears pricked and my eyes widened. The other lion blinked in surprise when he realized who he was attacking, and he scrambled to get off of me. "Yvaine?"

"Who else, dummy?" I snorted as I got back to my feet, shaking my fur. I'd need a bath with all of that running and tumbling I did.

"I thought you were someone else… Sorry." His ears flattened apologetically and he looked away.

I only smirked and pressed the top of my head under his jaw. "It's alright." I purred. "I mean really, how can I be mad at such a cute kitty?" I pressed my nose to his jaw affectionately.

He started to purr as well. "We should find some place to rest."

"I've looked around for a while and couldn't find anything." My ears drooped.

"Really? I've watched you. You were staring at yourself for a while, you know. And what makes a bush a good hiding spot?"

My head dropped. "I thought it was better than nothing…" _Wow. How_stupid _did that sound?_

"Not if you're alone in the cold." He pressed against me, and I noticed that he was still taller than me. Of course. "You're shaking..." He murmured, licking the top of my head.

"Then warm me up, silly." I pressed against him as well, tucking my head under his. "Were you able to find a better place to sleep?" I looked up at his silver-furred coat. It was strange. He wasn't a lion, and I couldn't see any markings. What type of cat _is_ he?

He turned his head to the right. "Looks like there's a spot under that tree." He pointed over to a very large tree with roots that stuck out of the ground so much that it looks like a cage, in a way.

Tilting my head slightly, I walked over and examined it. It seemed sturdy enough. "Okay." I slipped under the area after Riku and snuggled up beside him, his body curling over mine, like he was a blanket. "You're gonna get cold." I murmured.

"Mm-mm." He gently shook his head, his chin resting between my head and my shoulder. "You're too warm." His purring was now louder.

Not feeling like arguing, I let that slide. "Night, love." I rested my head on one of my front paws, getting ready to sleep.

His response came after a few moments of silence. "I love you, always." His voice was right next to my ear, and yet I could barely hear him.

"I love you until my dying day." I replied.

_That won't be long, now will it?_


	8. What I Need to Know

_"Come on over, Yvaine." I opened my eyes to see a dimly lit room with Cody sitting up straight in a large chair, her hands rested on her lap. She wasn't smiling, but she gave me a funny feeling, like she wasn't actually going to hurt me. "You look nice." She smiled lightly at me in a teasing way._

_ I looked down and saw that I was wearing the same outfit that Cody was wearing, a simple tux, though her tie was white and mine was black. My head felt tighter than usual, and I lifted my hand to feel that my hair was put up in a ponytail. I always hated it, so I took it out, my hair falling for a second, before it was somehow back into a ponytail. "What do you want?" I crossed my arms at her, staying where I was._

_ "You always thing I want something." Cody scoffed, standing up and walking over to me, her arm wrapping around me shoulders. "No, sweetie. I just wish to show you something.," She led me to a room with countless torture tools with someone tied to a table, blood covering their chest with it dripping off of the table, forming a small puddle on the ground. My eyes widened and I quickly turned my head away. The scent was luring me to look back, and I couldn't help but obey. My jaw dropped when I saw that the body had silver hair stained red. "Riku!" I screamed, wanting to run to him, but Cody held me back._

"_No no no. You," She set me down on a wooden chair and tied me to it, then walked back to Riku. "Get to watch me kill your boy toy slowly." She sneered and turned Riku's head so he was facing me. Tears were streaming down our faces. "Let's see…" She looked at the choices she had, then chose a dagger. "This seems about right." She grinned. "Watch now." She pointed to me before bringing down the dagger…_

"No!" I screeched, jumping up and out of the wooden cage and froze on my paws. My eyes were wide and my claws were sinking into the ground.

"Mm, Yvaine?" Riku asked, sleep covering his voice. I whirled around to see Riku stretching at the entrance, yawning as he shook his head.

"Riku! You're safe!" I bounded over to his side, pressing my head under his and purring happily, though it was shaking. My body was trembling as well.

He looked down at me and blinked twice in surprise. "Are you alright, love?" He asked, nudging his head against mine.

I only shook my head and kept myself up against him.

"Yvaine, love, talk to me." He urged, sitting down. "Did you have a bad dream?" He looked at me with his teal eyes, blinking once again.

I blinked back and nodded, nudging the bottom of his jaw with the top of my head. "I don't wanna talk about it, though." I mumbled, turning my head to the side.

Riku sighed. "Well, if it was about Cody, don't worry. You of all people should know that I can take her." He licked the top of my head. "You remember when I first met her, right?"

"Of course, dummy." I turned my head to look up at him. "I remember watching, too." My gaze went down and I thought about what happened, or how it happened.

"Yvaine?"

I blinked twice and turned to Riku. "Hn?"

"You blacked out for a second." He blinked.

"Oh… Sorry." I stretched, yawning. "We-we should go find Sora and Kairi." I turned around and started walking to the entrance/exit, Riku walking next to me.

"Think he already locked it?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Hopefully. I don't like being a cat." I grumbled, glancing to him.

"Oh? And why's that?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow that cat's don't have.

"Many reasons. One is that I don't like walking on four feet, and another is that I can't kiss you." I pouted a little.

He smirked. "I miss that, too. But we'll be able to kiss again when we're done here." He flicked my ear with his tail playfully.

"No fair. My tail's too short to flick your ear." I grunted, pawing at the ground angrily.

He just chuckled, still walking. "Pride Rock's just around the corner." He informed me before breaking into a run.

"Oh—Hey!" I ran after him, afraid of losing him and being lost in this area. He suddenly stopped in front of the large rock, and I stumbled, though I stopped next to him. "Can you see either of them?" He asked me.

I scanned the area before shaking my head. All of a sudden I was on the ground with a dark brown lion cub on my back. My ears instantly pinned and I squirmed beneath the cat.

"Sora?" Riku asked, butting him off of me.

The cat only grinned, though he looked exactly like the Islander. Same cobalt blue eyes, same hair, and he even had the crown necklace that Sora always had on.

"Moron." I growled, getting back on my feet. "What if that wasn't me?" I looked behind him to see who I assumed was Simba, considering he gave a ruler-like aura.

"Sora, are these the friends you were talking about?" He king asked, walking up to his side.

Sora nodded. "The girl's Yvaine, and the other one's Riku." The lad grinned, obviously happy to see us.

"Pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." I bowed to the king, Riku going in sync with me.

"No need to be speak so formally." He shook his head a little. "Are you two hungry?"

Riku nodded, and I flicked my ear. "I don't eat meat…" I looked down in shame.

"Alright. Mm…. There should be some berries in Rafiki's area. You could go ask him for some." He nodded towards a den-like area.

"Thank you." I nodded my head politely before turning around and walking to where he motioned to. "Rafiki?" I called, standing by the doorway.

There was some sort of cackle and a blue-furred monkey swung down with a large stick in his hand.

"Um… I'm here for –"

"Oh, I know what you're here for!" He exclaimed. "This way, this way." He put his hand on my shoulder and led me over to a bowl with many berries in it. "Eat up, eat up. Then I tell you what you need to know!" He swung over to a large tree in the middle of the area, singing in some foreign language.

"What I need to know?" I echoed, tilting my head slightly before sitting down to eat the berries. There weren't that many, and most of them were small, but they filled me up pretty quickly. I licked my lips after I finished, sitting up straight. "What do you mean, what I need to know?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

The monkey cackled again and danced around for a while. "You came here to find out questions, didn't you?" He asked.

"Um… No, we came here to – " The monkey smacked me on the head with his stick.

"No! You came here to find something out!" He corrected, shaking his finger at me.

I hissed quietly. "What exactly is that?" I asked, blinking once.

"Why, to find out what happened to your mother, of course!"


	9. Get Me Out of Here

"What happened to my mother? Are you insane?"

"Not at all!" The monkey grinned and raised his hands. "You've been wishing to see her again, right?" He circled me before pulling me out of his area with his arm around my shoulder again. "I can take you to her."

"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes, glancing to Riku who was watching us with a slight confused look. I shrugged lightly, as if I didn't know as much as he did. "Show me, then I'll believe you."

The monkey cackled again. "Come, come along!" He then headed for a close by river and I took off after him. What if I could really see my mother again? What would I say to her?

"Here, look in the water." He told me when we reached the water. "Look close." He jumped a little, as if he was excited.

I looked at him like he was crazy though I did what he said, looking down. "I only see myself." I said, blinking once at my reflection.

"No!" He whacked the top of my head again with his stick.

"Hit me again with that damn stick and I'll snap it in half!" I snapped, hissing as my head throbbed.

Rafiki just laughed again. "Look closer." He motioned with his stick to the water.

I growled a little, though I looked back to the water to see my image change to another cat that somewhat looked like me, though her eyes were emerald green and her fur was closer to black. "Mother!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening in shock. I jumped into the shallow water, only to quickly jump back out from the cold that hit me. "What was that?" I demanded, shaking off most of the water. "Some type of trick?" My ears flattened and I was just about ready to attack this damn monkey.

He laughed once again. "No no. I say this to Simba, now I say it to you. She lives in you. In here." He pointed to where his heart was. "If you think of her, she come to you. So don't forget!" He motioned as if he was going to hit my head again but he stopped a few inches away and grinned. "Now, back to your friends. They miss you." He turned me around and pushed me gently, urging me to go on.

Before I knew it, I was sprinting to where Riku and Sora were, my eyes wider with the knowledge that my mom really didn't leave me. "Riku! Sora!" I exclaimed, skidding to a stop in front of the chatting lions.

The two boys turned to me with a confused look. "What happened with Rafiki?" Sora asked, sitting up.

I was panting a little, though I grinned. "He told me something that I've been dying to hear." I said, sitting down as well.

"Why are your paws wet?" Riku asked, raising the eyebrow that cats don't have again. "Did he push you in or something?" He asked.

I laughed a little. "No, no. He led me to this river and told me to look in, and before I knew it, I saw what my mom would look like if she was a cat. It was awesome, I can tell what she looks like, even though the image was her cat form. But it was amazing, I saw her again!" I jumped up happily, then stopped when I saw a pink-ish cat walking towards us. "Yvaine!" She shouted, and I instantly recognized Kairi's voice.

"Kairi!" I exclaimed, jumping up again and running over to her, the two of us circling each other.

"Look at how cute you are!" She said happily.

"Me? Look at you, you're adorable!" I jumped once again, butting my head gently against hers. "I was worried about you!" I said, purring.

"Me too." She said with a smile. "You and Riku were gone for a while and I thought that you died, since you're not used to your new body." She was purring as well.

"Ha, you don't know me, then." I got back up and walked over to the boys, laying down on my side next to Riku. "But we all shared that Paopu fruit, remember?" I looked up at Riku who was looking down at me with an expression I didn't know, though it looked kind and gentle. "We'll always find each other." I purred. I got back to my feet and stretched. "Have you locked this world yet?" I asked, my attention to the Keyblade Master.

The boy shook his head. "I don't remember where it is, and Simba says that strange things have been happening."

"Like the Heartless attacking again? Yeah, so strange." Sarcasm hung heavily in my voice.

"No, I mean like, really strange things. Lions have gone missing into the Elephant Graveyard and I was planning on checking it out when—"

Riku cut him off, already on his feet. "We'll go check it out." He was already leading me away from the couple with confused looks plastered on their faces. "We'll be back as soon as we can!" He called, leading me with his tail.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking up at him when we were out of ear-shot and eyesight.

"Nothing, I just wanted to spend time with you." He turned his attention back to the area we were headed to. "And we're not actually going to check it out." He stopped right there, making me bump into him with a small squeak.

"What? Why not?" I asked, my eyes widening with some shock.

"We cannot meddle in other worlds for too long. Then people will depend on us too much and it will end in mayhem." The silver cat replied, turning his head to look at me.

"That's bullshit! Look at how much you've _meddled_ already. You can't get more involved with other worlds than you already are." My ears pinned a little.

He was quiet for a moment. "You may have a point, but worse things could happen if we continue."

"That's… Argh!" I rolled my eyes and turned around, walking towards the Oasis.

"Sora and Kairi said that they'd meet us by the lake." He was by my side again, though he was keeping his distance.

"Good, now I know where I'm going." I said condescendingly. "Keep up if you can." I winked playfully at him and bolted off towards the Oasis, though Riku kept up with me, so I sped up, and, to his surprise, he couldn't keep up with me. "Sora!" I shouted when I got to the lake.

He jumped at my shout, not noticing our pounding paws while he was in his own world with Kairi.

"You think you're meddling _now_? Wait until you get to my world. _Then,_ you'll be meddling." I hissed to him before getting into my ship that was waiting for us.

Sora blinked a few times at my tone, turning to his old friend. "What did you _say_ to her?" He asked the cat who shrugged. "Kairi, you should go talk to her." He muttered to the pink-ish lioness who nodded before going in after me.

"Try to be a little more nicer to her, okay? We don't wanna run into Cody again. Not at a time like this." He muttered to the other lion who gave him a curt nod.

"We should head out. Where are we going next, anyway?"

Sora smirked. "We're gonna visit my friend Beast."

**I swear, I love ending chapters with a quote. :D **

**And I'm sorry that it took me a while to update. ;_; I've been in a HUGE writers block and I wanted to get out of the Pride Lands just as much as Yvaine did, if not more. xD **

**There may or may not be a flashback in the next chapter. Depends on what happens. :P**


	10. Having a Nice Chat

"Little girl, are you alright?"

I opened my eyes to see a pretty woman with brown curly hair leaning over me. Her big, brown eyes blinked once and she tilted her head a little.

My eyes widened and I scrambled to my feet, backing up until my back hit a wall. "Where am I?" I asked, looking around quickly. I was in some type of room, with a small bed and the window was broken, probably my fault.

"Calm down, please." The woman held her hands up defensively. "No one's going to hurt you. My name's Belle." She stood up straight and motioned towards the window. "You came crashing through the window and gave me a big shock. But before that I saw what looked like some type of ship."

"My ship!" I exclaimed, suddenly remembering how useless Sora was being and making us crash….again.

"It was yours?" She raised a slender eyebrow.

"Yes, my friends Sora, Kairi and Riku are…." I trailed off. _She shouldn't know why we're traveling._

"Sora? You mean the child with spiky brown hair?" She seemed to know him, so I'm assuming they've been here before. "It'll be so nice to see him again." She smiled sweetly at me.

"He probably missed you guys." I smiled weakly back at her.

"I hope so. Shall we go look for him?" She held her hand out to me and when I shrunk back she lowered her hand.

"Sorry, I'm not used to people being so polite to someone they just met…" I rubbed the back of my head nervously.

Belle only smiled at me. "Don't worry about it, dear. Come on, we should go check where they are." She rested her hand on my shoulder and led me out of her room.

"Oh, and about that window. I'll pay for it somehow…" I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "And my name's Yvaine."

"Yvaine? That's quite the unique name." She wouldn't stop smiling at me, as if I looked familiar.

"Thank you." The corners of my lips tugged slightly at an attempt of a smile. "Belle's a lovely name as well." This woman made me feel like I could trust her, just like Kairi.

"Belle? Who are you walking with?" There was a low, almost dangerous voice behind us that gave me chills and I froze.

"This is Yvaine, one of Sora's friends." Belle rested her hand on mine for another second, turning me around to show me a strange animal-person with horns, small tusks and a dog-like tail. His light brown fur seemed messy and his blue eyes showed nothing even close to kindness.

I nodded politely to the man. "Nice to meet you." I said, blinking once.

He starred at me for a moment or two before turning his attention back to Belle. "I need to have a word with you." He said, growls forming within his throat.

Belle pouted a little. "Yvaine, you go on ahead. Sora should be in the main area. If not that then the ballroom." She smiled once again before walking over to the Beast's side and the two walked off.

I crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side. "They kind of look like a couple…" I muttered.

"You mean like you and Riku?" A higher-pitched voice asked beside me.

I turned my head to see Sora standing next to me, mimicking me pose. "Sora!" I exclaimed, hugging him happily. "Where did you land?" I asked as soon as I let go.

"The garden. Lumiere and Cogsworth found me." He shrugged. "Thankfully I landed in a biiiiig pile of leaves!" He laughed, stretching his arms out to signify how big the pile was.

"Limiere? Cogsworth?" I looked at him like he was insane.

"Down here, madam!" A french accented voice called from below us.

I looked down and saw a candle and a clock looking up at us. "I am Lumiere." The candle announced, hopping over to my side.

I picked up the candle and examined him, careful not to twist him so he was upside down. "Undarlegt..." I muttered, poking his candle and expecting heat, but there was very little.

"Yvaine, be careful not to start speaking your native tongue again." Sora waved his finger at me, the small clock resting on his arm that was crossed.

"Sorry." I muttered, looking down. "Should we push on?" I walked by him, still checking out Lumiere. "So how did you get like this? Surely you weren't born in such a form." I asked, setting the candle down on my palm.

"To make it short; we're under a curse." Cogsworth said unenthusiastically.

"Don't be so rude, Cogsworth!" The French candle exclaimed, leaning over my shoulder.

"I don't think he's being rude at all. You don't know Her Majesty…" My head fell to the side again when I mentioned our 'ruler'. "But he's not being rude at all." I smiled reassuringly at the candle who nodded at me.

"Have either of you seen a red-haired girl or a silver-haired boy?" Sora asking, as if he wanted to change the subject.

Lumiere thought, crossing his arms. "Not that I remember. Are they more friends?" He asked, looking at Sora.

He nodded. "The girl's really…. Special to me, and Yvaine's dating the silver haired boy." He blushed when he spoke about Kairi, and I found that simply adorable.

I squealed a little and took Sora's hand, swaying side to side quickly. "You're too cute!" I exclaimed, my girl-ish side taking over. "Young love is way too cute." I giggled, still holding onto his hand as I dropped them to our side. "The only reason I'm holding your hand is because I don't want to lose you, F.Y.I." I said with another giggle.

Sora grinned at me. "We only see each other as friends, anyway." He said as we went into a large room with pillars surrounding it. There was a window that covered up the back wall, looking over the garden.

"Wow!" I set Lumiere down and dropped Sora's hand, running over to the window and resting my hands on the glass, looking down at the garden, ignoring the leaves that were scattered, thanks to Sora. "Amazing!" I exclaimed, jumping like a child watching snow fall and stick to the ground.

"You're easily amazed, you know that?" The brunette commented, walking over to me with Cogsworth and Lumiere clanking over to us. "Just like when we told you the legend of the Paopu Fruit…" He added with a chuckle.

"That was because I've never heard of a legend such as that." I muttered, crossing my arms. "Don't make fun of me!" I exclaimed, gently kicking him.

"I wasn't honest!" Sora said with a laugh, though he fell over onto his rear. "Yvaine, I have a question for you." He suddenly became very serious and he patted the ground next to us, Lumiere and Cogsworth telling us that they were going to check up on their Master.

"I may or may not answer." I said, plopping myself next to him, leaning back against my palms, one knee bent and the other straight. "So?" My head fell to the side, looking at Sora as he gazed at the ground.

"Do you really wanna go back to your realm?" He asked, hugging his legs and keeping his eyes off of me.

I blinked twice, turning my head back to look at the opposite wall. "I dunno. I mean, now that I think about it, like, when I think about my family….You, Kairi and Riku pop up. I mean, I know Ryuu's waiting for me back home, but you're closer to me than he is." I sighed, my head falling back. "It's a tough decision that I think about every day. I have to stay for Ryuu's sake, but I also have to go for Riku. Why do you ask?" I lifted my head again and turned to the Keyblade Master.

He shrugged weakly. "I dunno. I've been thinking about what Riku would do if you left, and what we'd all do. Just curious, I guess." He rubbed his cheek, standing up and stretching. "What should we do now?" He asked as I stood up as well.

My arms went over my head as I stretched. "I can teach you one of our dances." I suggested, looking down at the ground. "This is a ballroom, after all." I looked back to the boy who was grinning at me.

"Yeah, we should do that!" He exclaimed. "But shouldn't we wait until Riku and Kairi get here?" He asked, looking down.

My head fell forward, then I fell back onto my bum again. "How about you tell me more about your island?" I asked, grinning up at the boy.

He grinned back at me. "Sure!" He said happily, plopping himself down next to me. "What do you wanna know?" He asked, now facing me.

I sighed. "Mmmm." I thought about what I knew. "Why did you spend so much time there?" I started off.

We spend the next few hours talking about each other's worlds and how they were similar and different. It was nice not worrying about other people for once and just talking to someone. I told him about Ryuu and my parents, something I rarely spoke to anyone about. Sora told me about his parents and what he and Riku would do together before Kairi showed up, then he started talking about Kairi, which I found adorable.

Eventually he fell asleep, leaning his head on my shoulder. I waited about half an hour or so waiting to see if Riku or Kairi would show up but neither of them did, so I found myself falling asleep, my head laid on top of his.

But what I didn't know, was that Sora's fingers curled around mine.


	11. Meeting the Father

"Yvaine, you have to get up!" Someone was shaking me, and when I woke up, Sora was leaning over me in a protective way.

"What?" I growled, rubbing my eyes.

Sora pulled me to my feet, his keyblade already in his hand. "The Heartless are everywhere!" He exclaimed before running out to the exit.

I blinked twice before everything snapped, and I remembered where I was. I summoned my rod that now looked like a katana and ran after Sora, easily catching up with him. My eyes widened when I saw how many heartless were in the Grand Hall. Sure, it was mostly Shadows and Neoshadows, but there were a ton.

((A/N: I suck at writing fight scenes so I'm skipping that. :P ))

With my rod falling out of my hand, I leaned on my knees and tried to catch my breath. "Sora?" I looked up and blinked a few times, the Shadows getting a few cheap shots on me. The Islander was lying on his stomach a few yards from me and I stumbled over to his side, flipping him onto his back. The poor boy was out cold. "Cura." I held my hand over his wounds before drinking one of my potions, still breathing heavily. "Alright, come on." I heaved the lad onto my back, his arms flopping over my shoulders with his forehead on my shoulder and my arms around his thighs. "Damn, Sora, how much Paopu fruit do you eat?" I complained, finding my balance. Once I did, I carried Sora back to where I remember parting with Belle, hoping to see either Kairi or Riku along the way.

"Belle?" I dropped one of Sora's legs to knock on her door, but there was no response.

Growling to myself, I walked back until I found an empty bedroom where I set Sora down. As he slept I thought about how peaceful he looked, and how much he looked like Ryuu. They had the same eye color and acted the same ways. I chuckled when I thought about how they would get along if they met.

No, they'd have to meet. They'd be good friends. And Ryuu could use another friend, being basically locked in his room.

I then thought about the day I told him I was leaving…

"_Yvaine, where are you going?"_

_The black haired boy followed me around everywhere that day._

"_I have to go on a mission from Her Majesty. I don't know how long it'll be, but I will be back." I knelt down in front of him and already saw tears forming, which just broke my heart. _

_He tried to look strong, but I knew that deep inside he wanted to cry and hug his big sister before she left, probably for good. "But be strong, okay? Ntch, Elaine, Kichai and Sakuya-dono will take care of you." I rested my forehead on his for a moment, before pulling back and noticing that the tears were spilling over his pale cheeks. "Ryuu, come on." I chuckled lightly. "I'm never any good with comforting people." My arms found their way around my brother's waist, pulling him into a goodbye hug. "I'll bring you so many souvenirs that you'll drown in them." I smiled weakly, hating this moment; and hating Her Majesty for creating this moment. _

_The boy started to sob, his smaller arms wound around my neck. "But what'll I do?" He cried._

"_You can play with Elaine. She's a few years older than you, but she's a sweetie. And you could possibly learn magic from Kichai, too." _

_There was pounding on my door before it burst open, a man dressed in all black and pale green eyes starring down at me. "It's time." He said, his voice low._

"_Okay, Ryuu, be a good boy for me." I kissed my brother's forehead, taking his hands and releasing them from my neck, standing up straight. "I'll miss you." I said, smiling weakly. I turned back to the boy dressed in black. "My, my, don't you look emo, Kai." I smirked. _

"_Shut it." He growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of my house, barely giving me enough time to look back at Ryuu who was bawling, rubbing his eyes at the sight of his sister leaving. "Take good care of your wheelchair, too!"_

I snapped out of that awful memory when I saw Sora stir. His eyes opened and he looked at me with his cobalt eyes, before gasping and sitting up right away. "What happened to the Heartless?" He asked, Keyblade in hand.

"Calm down." I rested my hand on his shoulder. "I took care of them." I turned my head to the door and saw Lumiere peeking in. "Madam? Is this a friend of yours?" He pushed the door open a little more and revealed Kairi to us.

"Kairi!" We exclaimed in unison.

The girl only smiled at us, walking over to our side. "Are you two alright?" She asked, glancing at me, though I knew she was just asking Sora.

He nodded and the two started chatting happily about where they landed, basically leaving me out.

"I'm gonna go look for Riku." I said, though neither of them listened. "Care to join me, Lumiere?" I asked, looking down as I picked up the candle.

"Of course! I wouldn't dare leave a woman by herself!" The candle moved one of his 'arms' to his 'chest', smiling at me.

I couldn't help but giggle, giving the couple a last glance before leaving the room, closing the door behind me.

We walked down and passed another large room, and I saw that Belle and the Beast were reading a book together in front of it.

"Let me guess." I said when we were farther away from that room. "The spell is that if he finds true love then it'll break." I looked down to Lumiere.

"That's the basic idea. There are a few more rules than that, though." He shrugged.

I nodded slowly. I looked out a nearby window and saw white covering the snow. I quickly twisted my heel and jogged over to the glass, my eyes widening in surprise. "Snow already?" I exclaimed, grinning. Snow was my absolute favorite thing. My 'family' and I used to play around in it all the time, then we'd go back inside and have hot chocolate.

Lumiere chuckled. "I thought you were looking for your friend." He said, nudging me gently with his 'elbow'.

My mind snapped back to reality and I nodded. "We would've seen him by now if he was in the castle, right?" He nodded. "What if he's outside? What if he's lost?" I started going to the worst case scenario.

"Would you like to find out where he is?" I heard Belle behind me, and I whirled around to see her smiling at me again. "Come on, I'll show you." She motioned for me to follow her, walking off into her room again.

I followed close behind, then raised an eyebrow when she showed me a mirror.

"Just ask for it to show you whatever you wish." She handed it to me and I gripped the handle and the back gently, not really knowing what to do. "Show me Riku, please." I said, and it flashed a bright green that made me wince, before an image appeared.

It was Riku, and he was out in the cold, like I thought. But then a door opened and an old man ran out, a blanket in his arms.

Belle gasped. "He's with Papa!" She exclaimed, almost happily. "He's in good hands, don't worry." She smiled once again.

"Your father?" I asked, turning to her after carefully setting the mirror on her bedside counter.

"Yes, he's fine. But if you'd like, you can use my horse and go to him. I'll give you the directions, of course." I nodded quickly and she went to a wardrobe, taking out a rather cute and furry cape. "You'll need this. Keep the hood up at all times." She tied it around my neck and pulled the hood up.

"Thank you very much." She turned me around and pushed me on, though we stopped when we saw Sora and Kairi. "Where are you going?" Sora asked, tilting his head slightly.

I glanced down to their intertwined hands and blinked. "To get Riku." I pulled Belle onward, heading to where her horse was. Sure, I felt bad for not letting them come along, but it would just take longer to get there.

"Okay, when you get to a three-way intersection, take the left. After that you keep going straight and you should come up onto a small town. Papa's house is in the back, over a small bridge. Do you think you'll make it before the snow really piles up?" She asked me, and I nodded.

"Thank you, Belle. I'll come back as soon as I can." I smiled weakly at her, before getting Phillipe into a gallop, nudging her sides with my heels. We got to the intersection and I heard some howls which made my skin crawl. I absolutely hated wolves. I don't understand why some girls find them adorable, because they're not. I kept my mind off of them, wanting to find something else to pay attention to.

There's the town!

The snow here wasn't as heavy as the castle. It had been about an hour or two to get to this town, and I couldn't find her father's house anywhere behind the town.

"Are you lost, madam?"

I turned around and saw a kind middle-aged man leaning out of his window, and the smell of bread found it's way over to me. He must be a baker.

"Do you know Belle's father?" I asked, hopping off of Phillipe and bringing her over with me as I made my way to his window.

"Sure I do." He smiled at me. "He's just down that way. Over a little bridge." He pointed behind me, before shivering. "You should go fast if you want to get there before night."

"Thank you, sir." I nodded politely to him before hopping back on Phillipe.

"Take care!" He called to me as I galloped away in the direction he pointed to.

And sooner or later, I came to the small bridge and a house just beyond that. I hopped off the horse once again, taking her reins and guiding her over to the front door, and knocked three times.

A few moments later an elderly man opened and looked to the horse. "Phillipe!" He exclaimed, blinking in surprise. "Why do you have her?" He asked me.

"Belle let me use her in order to get here. You see, I think my friend's staying here." I rubbed my arm at how strange that sounded.

"You mean Riku? Yes, he's here. Come on, I'll take Phillipe. If Belle let you use Phillipe then you must be a good girl." He smiled at me. So many people smile here. He took the horse's reins from me and walked off towards a stable. "Go on in." He called to me, and I nodded. He was a cute old man.

I walked into the house, warmth surrounding me from the former chills.

"Yvaine?"

"Riku?" I turned around and saw Riku looking at me with a confused/surprised look. He had a basket of berries in his arms which he quickly set on the table and he ran over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up, spinning us around. "Yvaine!" He said in the happiest tone I've heard in a while.

"Riku, you're safe!" I exclaimed, my arms wrapping around his neck. When he set me down he helped me take off the cloak, and I noticed his change of clothes. He was now wearing a white dress shirt that seemed a bit too big for him and it had rolled up sleeves and a white undershirt. He had black pants and shoes, as well. Seemed like a farm boy to me, and that made me giggle. "Your new clothes don't seem to fit you." I rested me forehead on his chest, still laughing lightly.

"It's better then wearing soaking clothes." He said, kissing my forehead.

I looked up at him then motioned to the basket. "Were you making something?" I asked, walking over to it and looking at all of the berries.

He nodded briskly. "Yes. Maurice was going to make a pie and he wanted me to get the berries." He turned his head to the door when Maurice walked back in. "Care to help us out as well?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Call me Yvaine." I looked at how this man looked like Elaine's father. He acted a little like him, too.

"Come on, Yvaine, let's go get you some clean clothes." Riku wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the upper floor.

"I'll get everything ready." The man called from behind us.

This was going to be a nice night.

**I swear, I love this world. :D Lumiere's always been my favorite, so that's why he's pretty much everywhere. :P **

**I found out just a few moments ago that his voice actor died in 2004 and I started to cry. xD **

**Man, I'm on a roll with this stuff. :] I just really really love this world. Probably one of my favorites.**


	12. Snowball Fight

There were three knocks on the door. "Yvaine?" Riku's voice called from the other side. My head snapped up when I heard the door open and Riku's form walked into the scene. "You alright?" He asked, looking at me with a shy (and adorable, if I might add) expression.

"Yes, I'm fine." I looked back down at the cape that Belle gave me, almost sadly.

Riku walked over to me and slid behind me on the bed, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder. "Thinking about your mom?" He asked, his voice quiet.

I nodded a little. "She would've been happy to see me happy, but I would be happier if she was here." I muttered, looking out the window to the snow that covered the ground. "And we have to get back to Belle." I added, sighing.

He nodded a little. "We can leave now, if you want."

"But what about Maurice?" I asked, turning my head to look down at him.

"He'll understand. Sora and Kairi would be worried about us, anyway." Riku brushed some of my hair over my shoulder. "Come on." He got back up, his hands finding mine and pulling me up, though I lost my balance and stumbled into his arms.

He just chuckled at me. "Such a clumsy soldier." He muttered, dropping one of my hands and pulling me downstairs.

"Oh, Yvaine, you have a message. I don't really know how it got here." I looked up and saw a white owl on Maurice's table, and when it saw me it tilted it's head.

"Yuki?" I asked, running over to the creature that had a scroll in it's mouth. "Um…" I turned to Riku and Maurice, before lowering my arm to allow the owl to climb onto my shoulder. "Please excuse me." I walked out of the house, taking the scroll from the bird's mouth. The stamp on it was a rose I instantly knew it was from Her Majesty.

_Yvaine, you're going too slowly with this mission. All I want you to do is bring the Keyblade Master here. Is that too hard for you? Honestly, if I sent Kai out he'd have it done by now._

I stopped reading after that. I was fine going my own pace. But something at the bottom caught my eye again.

_If you do not update within 30 days of reading this, I will send Kai out to take the Keyblade Master from you, and I will break our deal. _

What.

A.

Bitch.

I ripped the paper to shreds and walked back in, acting like nothing was wrong. "Maurice, do you have a pen and paper I could use?" I asked, smiling lightly.

"Of course. It's in that drawer right behind you." He wasn't facing me, mostly because he was making food.

I turned around and pulled out the needed supplies to respond, not noticing Riku watching me with crossed arms, leaning against the other wall.

I responded in my native tongue, just like the letter Her Majesty sent me.

_Fine. But I told you I need to help him with his mission before I can finish mine. So if you want to bitch about it, go ahead. But I _will_ bring him to you. You haven't even told me why you want him so badly. We have a few more worlds to go, so chill. And if you break our deal I won't bring him to you, and I will kill everyone you send out. Do not doubt my skills._

Dumb bitch.

Of course I didn't write that down, it'll just make her even madder. I rolled it up and gave it to Yuki. "Send it back." I said, walking over to the door and releasing the bird.

"Was that something of importance?" Maurice asked, turning around to look at me.

I turned to face him as well but shook my head. "Not really."

"Sorry to break this up." Riku said, walking over to Maurice. "But we have to get back to Belle. We'll tell her that you're doing fine." He said with a small smile.

Maurice seemed sad for a moment, though he nodded. "Take care, you two." He smiled weakly at us.

Riku nodded. "You too." He then quickly turned around and walked out of the house, heading for the stables.

Yeah, like he knows _anything_ about horses.

I ran after him after saying goodbye to Maurice.

"Hold on, Riku." I put my hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" I asked, my eyebrows knit and concern showing in my pose.

He didn't respond for a moment or two. "He's more of a dad to me than my real one." He muttered, turning his head away.

I sighed quietly, rubbing his shoulder lightly. "Well, I'm sure he thought of you as a son. Now, come on. Sora and Kairi are waiting for us.

AT BEAST'S CASTLE

"Riku! You're safe!" Sora and Kairi ran to their old friend and chatted eagerly with him while I put Phillipe back where she normally stayed. I took off her saddle and walked back to the trio, though thought it was best to leave them alone at the moment. Maybe Lumiere would keep me company.

Found out that he was busy as well, keeping an eye on his Master, making sure that he didn't get in too much trouble.

So, I walked out to the large balcony, sat down on the ledge, and let my mind wander.

I thought about my parents for a while, mostly my mother and what I could remember about her, which wasn't a lot. All I could remember was that she gave her life to help Ryuu. And at least I know what she looks like, even though she was a cat.

Which didn't help out a lot, but at least it was something.

"Yvaine?"

Sora's voice snapped me back and I turned my head to see the boy peeking his head in, his eyes wide with innocence. "We were gonna go play in the snow. Wanna come?" He seemed nervous, but about what, I didn't know. I blinked twice and nodded a little. "Sure." I stood up and walked over to him, and then I realized why he looked so nervous.

I was shaking, though I wasn't cold. I wasn't sad or mad either.

So…..

What was it?

Sora motioned for me to follow him which I did obediently, and when we reached the Grand Hall something went around my neck. It wasn't tight or anything. And when I looked down, it was soft. And red.

I turned my head and saw Riku looking down at me with a small smile.

_Thanks._ I mouthed, and he nodded before wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder.

"I thought we were gonna play in the snow." I muttered, turning my head slightly to look at the taller boy who shrugged. "Fine." He slurred, releasing me and walking over to the back doors. Kairi and Sora were already making snow angels, acting so innocent and oblivious. I turned to Riku with a look of, 'Can I join?'

He smirked at me and chuckled, ruffling my hair lightly. "Go on, Collette."

Collette? He only calls me that when I'm acting like a puppy. Just like when we first met and I wouldn't talk at all…

I shrugged it off and ran over to the couple, tackling the two to the ground as they started to laugh again. I quickly got back to my feet and got in an attacking position, Kairi crawling away, knowing what I wanted to do. Sora knew as well, seeing that he got into an attacking position as well. We circled each other for a few moments until he tried to jab me in the side, though I caught his wrist and twisted it in a way that made him lose his balance and he fell into the soft snow face-first with his arm still in my grip and rested on his back. He squirmed like a worm beneath me, and I forgot about his other arm.

He reached back and grabbed my ankle, pulling me down. He got on top of me and grinned. "Pinned ya." He teased, his hands now locked onto my wrists.

I growled playfully, lifting my knees and pressing them against his stomach, pushing until he lost his grip and got off of me. We both scrambled to our feet and summoned our weapons, though mine remained a rod, since we were just playing. We then ran at each other and our weapons met with a loud clang, our eyes showing how determined we were to win.

"Don't think you can win against the _Keyblade Master._" The brunette's ego was having a party with that.

"Don't think you can win against the _First _Knight." I said, though it wasn't a very big ego boost.

He scoffed before we pushed away, twirling our weapons at the same time. I chucked mine at him and he whacked it aside, though I flicked my wrist and it spun around, knocking the back of his head and sending him to the ground. I ran to him and grabbed my weapon on the way, setting a knee on his back and putting both of his wrists in the grasp of one of my hands, the other hand holding my rod and rubbing the side of his neck teasingly. "Dead." I said happily.

He still squirmed beneath me, and I forgot about his legs this time. He got a bunch of snow beneath his feet and kicked it at me, knocking me off of him again. He then got up and gathered a small pile in his hand, forming it into a ball and throwing it at my face right as I sat up, knocking me over, once again.

"What the hell, man?" I coughed out some of the snow that went into my mouth. "That was a cheap shot!" I gathered snow in my hands and threw it at the Islander, though when he ducked, it his Riku in the chest.

He took a few steps back, looking down at the snow that remained on his shirt. He blinked a few times, before kneeling and getting some of his own snow, throwing it back at me. I ducked, though it still grazed the top of my head.

"SNOWBALL FIIIIIIGHT!" Sora shouted, flailing his arms about and running behind a tree, away from the balls that Riku and I were chucking at him. Kairi, however, was staying out of it, being the pacifist that she is. She was, however, helping us make snowballs.

"Kairi! Don't help them!" He exclaimed from behind the tree. But when he turned to look out, Riku got him in the face with a snowball.

We continued to play for a few hours, not noticing the sun set. Only when Lumiere said that it was getting late did we realize that. So we went in and Ms. Potts came in on a rolling desk with cups of Hot Chocolate.

I instantly squealed, jumping up and taking a cup with a thank you to Ms. Potts. I sipped the warm liquid chocolate happily while Sora, Kairi and Riku chuckled at me. "Whaaaat?" I asked, turning to glare at them.

Sora shrugged, Kairi shook her head a little, and Riku smirked. "Remember when she first tried speaking English?" He turned to Sora, who laughed. "Squoop squoop squiggly splooch." He mimicked, which made me puff out a cheek.

"That's what you sounded to me." I turned my head away.

"Not like you sounded any different to us." Sora shrugged.

My face lit up with embarrassment. And I didn't look at anyone when Riku's arm slid around my waist and pulled my closer to him. I just slowly drank my chocolate. "Why do you like sweet things so much?" He asked quietly.

"Because it was the first food I had from here." I muttered, finishing it quickly, with the others just half way. "It's not that hot, you guys." I teased. "I'm gonna go ask Lumiere what's for dessert." I said, skipping away happily.

And when I got back Kairi and Sora were off in some other room, Riku being the only person there. He had his back to the door and his arms were crossed, his head bowed.

"Riku~!" I sang, skipping up to him. "What're you thinking about?" I clasped my hands behind my back and ducked my head a little to look up at him.

He seemed like he was thinking about something else, though when he heard me his head lifted and he smiled weakly. "Nothing." He shrugged a little. "Sora and Kairi went to get Belle and the Beast."

My eyes went to the floor for a second before looking back up at him. "I'm sure he doesn't like being called that." I crossed my arms and mimicked him, leaning against the door as well. "Does anyone know his name?"

"Everyone calls him Master."

I huffed. "Then I'll ask Belle."

"Ask me what?"

We both lifted our heads at the same to see Belle accompanied by Kairi, her head tilted ever so slightly. "Ah… Um…" I suddenly lost my cool, looking down and away.

"What do you call the Beast?" Riku asked bluntly.

Belle giggled lightly. "I just call him Beast. He won't give me his real name." She seemed sad at the last sentence, though she quickly smiled again. "Come along, dinner's waiting." She led us to the main hall, pushing us gently.

**_So, that's that. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been pretty bummed out lately. My best friend was put in the hospital again, my mom's been snappy and I can't go to my brother or sister for help. :\ And I've been feeling pretty separated from my friends. :[ _**

**_That, and I've been focusing on my drawings. :P  
_**


	13. Two Truths and a Lie

**I'm probably gonna lose a lot of readers with this chapter.**

After dinner I was sitting on the large balcony again, happily nibbling on a small cake Lumiere made me.

I heard footsteps, and I turned my head to see Riku with a ton of jackets around him, which made him look like a human-sized teddy bear. I stifled a laugh, covering my mouth.

"What's so funny?" He asked as he made his way over to me, his hands in his pockets.

"You." I finished my little cake and my laughter, coughing a little at the end. "You look like a giant teddy bear."

He snorted before sitting down next to me, looking down at his feet…. If he could see them. "You remember how I used to find you down at the beach throwing rocks at something?" When I nodded, he blinked. "What were you throwing them at?"

"Her Majesty." I said in a very cold voice, which almost sounded like Cody.

"Still mad with her?"

"Always."

He nodded a little. "Remember how I used to hold you back and eventually rock you to sleep?"

"Are you going anywhere with this?" I asked, turning my head and gazing at him with a raised eyebrow.

He paused. "I was remembering that, then I thought about how much you've changed."

"How so?"

"You're more confident, you're stronger both mentally and physically, and you've opened up a lot. Like, you never told me about Her Majesty or Ryuu until a few months ago."

"And how long have we known each other?"

He chuckled. "At least a year. Remember my birthday?" He nudged me teasingly, and I blushed like no one's business. "Guess so." He had a smug smirk on his face as he turned away.

I accidentally got drunk that day – thought champagne was apple juice – and, with all the insane stories they told me, I believed that I did the chicken dance on his big-ass balcony and made out with almost everyone afterwards. I would've made out with everyone if Riku didn't send me to bed, apparently.

"Thanks for making me remember that. If you're done teasing me, I'm going inside." I stood up and brushed some snow off of my head and outfit, and as I went on my way, Riku wrapped his puffy arms around me, resting his forehead on my shoulder. "How can you stay so warm?" He muttered quietly, though it was loud enough for me to hear.

_I can't tell him my true form…_ "It's my race." I replied, my voice just as low.

_Ha, nice save._

_Shut up, Cody._

He didn't respond, only snuggle up against me more. "Warm me up." He said, brushing the side of his head against the side of mine.

"You're acting like Ntch right now." I muttered, smiling weakly. I unzipped one of his many jackets and wrapped my arms around him, trying to warm him up.

"You know, my lips are still cold." He said with a smile in his voice.

"If you just wanna kiss me, then say so." I said, smiling back as he lifted his head. He tucked his lips against mine and we both closed our eyes, his hands drifting to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. My arms were instantly around his neck, one resting on the back of his head. We continued to kiss for a few moments until he pulled away, smiling lightly with his forehead against mine. "You don't have any gloves?" I whispered, smiling back at the boy.

He breathed out a small laugh. "Nope."

"Then let's go—"He kissed me again for a second. "Inside." I finished.

"Mm, fine." He closed his eyes briefly, then slid his right hand into my left and gently led me back into the warm house. "Mm? Where's Sora and Kairi?" He asked the small grandfather clock that waddled over to us.

"They went to bed, sir. And I'd suggest you do the same thing, it's getting late." He waved one of his 'fingers' at us, and we both rolled our eyes simultaneously.

"Not _that_ late." I muttered, though we both turned around and walked off, heading for the East Wing where our rooms were. "I'll walk you to your room, okay?" I smiled lightly to Riku and he nodded briskly.

It was then silent until we reached his room, where he turned around and took hold of my other hand. "Don't sneak out during the night, okay?" He muttered, looking down at me with a somewhat serious face.

"Yes, father." I rolled my eyes playfully at his request, and he kissed my cheek before turning around and walking into his room, closing the door behind him.

I stood there for a few seconds before turning around and walking off, heading for my room.

_You don't wanna phase back for tonight?_ Cody asked me.

_No thank you. _I said sarcastically, though I was already heading for the balcony. _What the hell, Cody? Now you can control my body but not all of me?_ I asked, though I could stop myself. _Huh… Maybe it's just me._ I took a deep breath, watching my breath fade away in the cold air. I closed my eyes for a few moments and when I opened them, my pupils were slits. My hair started turning darker and darker until it was a raven black color, and scales started covering my skin.

Sooner or later I was a black dragon, my figure similar to a Night Fury's(How to Train Your Dragon). I opened my jaw and yawned, stretching my wings out and taking off into the night sky, not caring who saw me.

~ x ~

"Yve?"

I was in an almost white room; the only spot was the door frame, which was black. I don't remember getting here…

I lifted my head and looked to see Sora peeking in through the door, his eyebrows knit. "Are you alright? You seemed like you were depressed about something." He walked over to me and got on his knees.

"Yes, I'm fine." I nodded a little to conform it, though he didn't believe it.

"Did you phase last night?"

My eyes widened a little. How did he know? "Y….You know about this already?" My head dropped a little.

"Of course, Yve. Whenever you left at night I'd always watch you leave. I kept it a secret 'cause I didn't know how to bring it up…" He rubbed the back of his spiky hair nervously. "But I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore, huh?" He gripped apologetically at me, and I had to smile back, even though it was weak.

"So how do you feel, about me being a dragon and all?" I gripped my pants gently, not wanting to hear his answer.

"Eh? I'm fine with it, really. Sure, I freaked out a little at first, but after a while I got over it and wondered… Why a human, of all the things you can change into? I mean, when we first found you in your ship I saw scales beside you, and I knew that you weren't completely knocked out."

"A human because that's what you looked like, and I didn't want you to judge me just then." I still refused to look at the boy, though I answered honestly, which is strange for me, considering I almost never tell the truth.

"Really? We're like, the least judging people EVER." Sora's head fell back for more empathies. "You should've met the people at our school." He laughed a little.

"I did meet the people at your school. Remember when I got scared from being alone and you let me tag along?" I raised a playful eyebrow at him. "That was when I met Kairi, and she thought you were cheating on her." I laughed weakly.

"Yeah, that was hard to explain… And you not knowing English didn't help out either."

"Well, yeah, but I knew your sign language." I shrugged. "And I had to follow Riku since I refused to speak for a while until I somewhat mastered your language." My head fell to the side. "Hey, I have an idea. I need to test something out, so let's play that 'two truths and a lie' game I saw you and Riku playing in your…. Homeroom class." I grinned.

Sora snickered. "Sure. I'll go first." He lowered his head and thought for a few moments. "I used to think Riku was cute." I nodded once. That one was true. "I wasn't the original Keyblade Master." Another truth. So the last one must be the lie. "And when my dad lost his job, I cried for an hour or two." …..Wait, they're all true.

"Sora, are you playing me?" I raised an eyebrow, thinking about how he acted when he told me the statements.

He sighed. "Yeah, I am. I couldn't think of a good lie." He chuckled embarrassingly.

"You really thought that Riku was cute?" I tried not to laugh for my life.

His head dropped again. "Yeah… It was during puberty, so…."

I laughed, not being able to hold it anymore. "That's no excuse, silly!" I bent over and held onto my stomach, though I felt a little bad. "Man, your face is so red!" I covered my laugh, ceasing my laughing.

"Fine, your turn." He was smiling, so that's good.

"Alright." I thought about some. I was thinking that I could tell him all truths as well, but then again, that'd just be lame. "Okay. First one is that I was told that I am going to die before I'm 20 years old." That one was true, but I showed a sign that it was a lie, I looked away. "My little brother is in a wheelchair because of me." There's the lie, but I tried not to show it. Yes, Ryuu was put in a wheelchair because he fell off of a horse and it stomped on his leg while it was freaking out. I was there, and it was the worst day for me. I heard the snap, and—oh, shit, I'm taking too long. "And I was too embarrassed to sing outside of my head until Riku heard me." I waited for him to finish thinking about it.

"I really wanna say it's the first one." He looked at me with a kicked-puppy expression. When I shook my head and smiled lightly, I could tell his heart skipped a beat. "Why are you gonna die soon?" He exclaimed, which made me cover his mouth.

"Not so loud, Sora!" I hissed. "No one else can know of this, okay? Yes, I'm going to die young. In my realm, people who are born with silver hear are destined to die young, and now I know why."

Sora asked why, even though it was muffled because of my hand.

"Because of Cody. She's going to end up coming out and she won't let me back in. And when that time comes, I need Riku to kill me."

**Sorry about the lack of updates, guys. I've been really depressed and unmotivated lately. It's bugging the crap out of me, too. But I WILL try to update more. I feel really bad, and with the sudden burst of new readers really made me finish this. Thank you all so so much! You're amazing!**

**Free points if you're still here after this chapter, too!  
**


	14. Friends at the Bar

**If only Paopu Fruit were real, I'd never have to fear losing my closest friends.**

"Kill you?"

My hand flew over the boy's mouth. "Almost two years and you still don't know when to shut up!" I hissed, my face close to his. "Yes, kill me. But I have a theory." I heard him try and say something, but my hand was in the way, so I set it back down on my knee.

"Yes, a theory. I'm thinking that if he kills me quickly, then Sai can bring me back before I'm actually dead."

"Sai? Who's that?" He cocked his head to the side and his eyebrows knit.

"Oh, sorry. I know these Twins who are angels. Literally, angels. Kai and Sai, the Angel of Death and a normal Angel respectively. They protect us, in a way. And Sai's job is to bring our spirits to the afterlife, or so they say." I shrugged a little. "Anyway." I patted my thighs, getting off topic. "If he can get my spirit, then maybe, if it works, I'll be myself. You know, without Cody and all that jazz." I could see that he didn't get anything I was saying, so I just gave up on him. "Come on, we should get going." I stood up and dusted myself off, only to notice that my clothes have changed again.

Now I was wearing a punk/gothic outfit, with belted knee-high shoes, black tights, a black belted skirt with chains dangling from it in certain places, a white dress-shirt with a thin black tie and more chains with my black short jacket, my black skin-tight glove, and my wide silver bracelet that resembled the rings that circled an atom**[1]**. Kind of neat, if I do say so myself.

"Come on." I pulled Sora along, taking his wrist in my hand.

"Come on? Where are we going?" He was looking at me with a confused look.

"We don't have anything else to do in this world, right? Besides going to the town and everything, I mean." I shrugged and he nodded. "So let's get going. We shouldn't wait for the snow to pile up again or anything." I glanced to one of the many windows and saw that it wasn't snowing, thankfully.

"Well, I guess so—WAAH" He nearly tripped over himself with how I tugged him along. "Come on, come on." He heard me mumble.

"Sora? Yvaine? What are you two doing?"

I turned my head toward the West Wing to see Kairi walking down the steps, her head tilted a little.

"We're just looking for you guys so we can leave for the town." Sora shrugged, getting his wrist out from my grip. My guess was because he didn't want Kairi to suspect anything, after all the time he spent with me when they first found me.

"We were just looking for you guys, too." Kairi smiled sweetly. "Where were you two, exactly?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"I'd like to know that, too." Riku appeared from behind Kairi, his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"I found Yvaine dazed off in the ballroom." Sora shrugged, not finding anything wrong with it.

"The Ballroom? I didn't find her there when I looked." Riku's eyebrows knit.

"I was walking around until a few minutes ago." I shrugged, even though Sora and I knew that it was a lie. "I couldn't find any of you so I figured that if I went to the ballroom, you'd eventually look there again." I walked over to Riku's side, my arms wrapping around his right arm. He just looked down at me with a frown for a few seconds before smiling very weakly, kissing the top of my head. "Should we get going? Don't forget that we can't stay here for very long." He looked back to his friends who nodded.

"We know." Sora grinned, and then flicked his head to the side. "Let's go, then." He took Kairi's hand in his and led her to the main entrance, Riku pulling me along with my arms still wound around his arm.

~x~

When we got to the town, everyone was looking at us. And I mean EVERYONE. Doesn't matter to me if it was a glance at Riku or my hair color, or our clothes, they didn't have to stare so much. I kept my head down and Riku would glare to most of the men who looked at me. Sora and Kairi, however, seemed perfectly fine with them staring at us.

"Hey, we're gonna go get something to eat, you guys wanna come?" Sora turned his head to look at us, grinning happily.

"Nah, we'll go ahead and get some supplies." Riku shook his head while Sora briskly nodded, the couple leaving us behind.

"Wanna go get something to drink?" He turned his head down to look at me, one eyebrow raised.

"Wha-? You just turned down Sora and Kairi's offer."

"Yeah, but this way we'll be alone." Riku smirked evilly at me, which made me blink twice in surprise. "When did you change clothes?" He asked, tugging at one of my jacket's chains.

_Oh, shit._ "Before you came and found me, obviously." I crossed my arms and turned my head to the side, which made Riku raise an eyebrow.

"Acting cocky now, aren't we?" He smirked a little, his arms crossed as well.

"Please. I'm always cocky." I stuck my hip out all sassy-like. Then someone caught my eye. She had slightly faded purple hair, which is what got my attention. She was wearing baggy jeans and a black t-shirt, which is odd in this world. Can she travel like us? "Riku, let's go there." I pointed past him to the building, unaware that it was a bar.

Riku turned around and raised an eyebrow, though he sighed. "Alright, if you want to." He took my hand and led me into the bar, where a ton of drunk men were flirting with women. But there was one man who was tipsy and he was talking to these three girls who I assumed were triplets, all blond hair and kind of skanky. Then there was the girl with purple hair who was sitting at the counter, ordering what I assumed was an alcoholic drink. The bartender didn't ask for her I.D., which I thought was strange. Maybe it's a different age cut off here. She seemed no older than me.

"Yve, I'm gonna go to the restroom. Stay here, alright?" Riku murmured to me, and I only nodded in response. But as soon as he left I walked over to the purple haired girl and sat next to her.

"Nice hair." I said, asking the bartender for just a water.

"Thanks. Is yours dyed?" She looked at me with dark brown eyes, and I shook my head.

"Natural, sadly."

"Sadly? Why sadly? Do you not like your hair color?" She turned to me and leaned on her elbow which was rested on the counter.

"No, I like it. It's just, in my w-country, when someone is born with silver hair that means that they're going to die young." I shrugged as if it was nothing. "So, I visited one of my Elders to see if they could tell me when or how I am going to die, and she said that I'm going to die before I'm 35, and that I will die because…. You know what, I can't remember." I giggled a little at how crazy I sounded, though this girl was nodding a little, as if she understood.

"My name's Miyuki." She offered her hand to me, which I took and gave a firm shake.

"Yvaine." I replied with a small smile. "You don't seem like you're from around here." I took a sip from my water. "Traveling?" I asked, turning to her and blinking once.

"Yup." She didn't say anything else, and I took a clue that she didn't want to. "Where _is_ Riku?" I asked, spinning around in my seat to see Riku walking over to me.

"Yve, who's this?" He motioned to Miyuki who seemed to already like him.

"Miyuki." She said quickly, almost dumbstruck. "So are you two siblings, or something?" She asked, basically starring at Riku.

"Actually, no. We're dating." Riku said, wrapping an arm around my neck and resting his cheek on the top of my head, which only made me blush and turn away.

"Oh…" She sounded depressed already. "Well, that's nice." She smiled sweetly, though I knew she was sad about it.

"Yve, we should get the supplies." He muttered to me, and I nodded.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up." I looked up at Riku who blinked at me, though he nodded and turned, walking away.

"He's….." Her head fell to the side, which made me roll my eyes.

"Unless you've been through training for a war, he's not for you." I got off of my seat and leaned against the counter just as that really buff dude I saw earlier walked up to us.

"What're you two ladies doing alone? Surely you should have boyfriends." He was swaying. Great, another drunk man.

"I have a boyfriend." I said rudely, turning my head away, though I noticed that he was wobbling over to me and basically leaning on me.

"Well, that just makes you more attractive." He hiccupped and I smelled his horribly smelling breath, making my nose wrinkle.

"Does it now? I wouldn't find myself attractive in the first place." I scooted away from him and looked past him to see that Miyuki probably chased after Riku. Great.

"But you are. You're the prettiest lady in this masquerade ball." What?

"Thanks, but no thanks." I moved even farther away, but he was just leaning on my, probably passed out. But I didn't notice that his lips were on mine until Riku shouted my name and I quickly turned to him, with Gaston standing up somewhat straight with an eyebrow raised to him.

"Who the hell is he?" He demanded, storming over to us and grabbing the man's collar.

"Hell if I know." I mumbled, my arms crossed once again.

"So you just let some drunk guy kiss you?" He turned to me with his teal eyes obviously pissed off.

"I didn't know he was kissing me! I'm kind of cold, considering I'm in a fucking _skirt_ in the _winter!_" I snapped back at him, my fists clenched. I saw from the corner of my eye that Miyuki was watching everything from the doorway, leaning on it with her hands in her pockets.

"That's no excuse!"

"Hey, how about you let the little lady choose who she wants to-" He hiccupped. "Be with." He finished, though Riku was already turning around to punch the man in his face, which didn't really trouble him, seeing that he was about twice Riku's size.

"Riku, don't!" I exclaimed, grabbing Riku's arm and tugging on it, though he just shoved me away, though I caught my balance before I tripped. "Riku!" I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, watching the anger in his eyes burn before I slapped him as hard as I could, which made him stumble a little. "Now don't make me mad." I stood up straight to make me seem taller. "You know what happens. Now come on, we have to get out of here." I grabbed his wrist and pulled the dumbstruck boy out of the bar and to where Sora and Kairi were waiting.

"What happened?" Sora asked as Kairi tilted her head slightly.

"Riku got mad. Let's go." I pushed the silver haired boy out of the town, Sora and Kairi following us. "We've meddled too much in this world." I waited until we were at my ship until I stopped pushing Riku.

Now he had gathered his thoughts and buckled himself in and stayed quiet for a while, allowing the awkward silence loom over the four of us (five if you count Cody).

"Sorry…. About slapping you." I muttered after about ten minutes of silence, and I could sense a wave of relief wave off of Kairi and Sora.

"I got too angry." Riku mumbled, resting his head on my shoulder as an act of forgiveness.

I looked out the window as we started to take off, unaware of the fact that Miyuki was watching us the whole time.

**[1] Look up a picture of an atom if you don't already know what they look like. **

**And I was allowed to use the wonderful Miyuki by my friend .**

**READ HER STORY NAAAO**

.net/s/6131743/1/Theres_A_Light_In_the_Attic


	15. Old Friends

**It's 3.11 AM and my cat is spazzing out next to me.**

When we landed, I noticed that no one was with me. I was on a beach with a city behind me that had white painted walls. I quickly stood up and looked around, my eyes wide with alarm. I shouted Sora, Riku and Kairi's name, but I was given no response. Where the hell am I, exactly?

Wait, this seems familiar…..

Atlantica?

They're mermaids and I'm not? How is that possible? It's not because I don't know how to swim, is it? Hopefully not, 'cause that would be balls.

So…. What do I do? I don't have any money for a hotel, I can't ask some stranger if I can stay with them, and I can't swim to a place I don't know.

I sat back down and pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my kneecaps.

Well, at least the weather's nice…

Okay, I must've been sitting here for at _least_ two hours, and no one has shown up yet. Just when I got up and dusted myself off again, I heard my name. I turned around and caught a glimpse of silver hair who I only assumed was Riku's. "Riku?" I shouted, feeling like a moron for doing so.

The head popped up again, this time closer, and next to a rock that was close enough for me to walk over there and only get to about my waist. So, I took off my shoes and knee-high socks and set them aside before running into the water like a moron, ignoring the muffled jingling of my anklet.

Riku smiled at me as I scrambled onto the rock, pulling himself up as well and revealed to me his fin that was the same color as his eyes, which only brought them out even more. "Why are you human?" He asked, cupping my face in his wet hand, using the other to keep himself up.

"You're asking me? I'm guessing it's because I don't know how to swim, but there could be other reasons."

"You don't know how to swim?" Riku blinked twice and looked at me in surprise, and then realization washed over his face. "So that's why you never went close to the water…" He muttered, looking down.

"Yup." I pulled my knees close to my body again. "So where do I stay?" I asked, looking up at him as he brushed some of my bangs behind my ear.

"I don't know. Honestly. I've never been to the city before. I wish I could stay with you longer…" He muttered, resting his forehead on mine.

"You have to go?" I asked, my eyebrows coming closer together.

"Sadly, yes. But I'll come back here at around noon, so wait for me, okay?" He tucked his lips against mine before twisting his torso and pushing off into the water, his teal fin the last thing I saw.

"Alright…" I waited a minute before walking back to my shoes, wringing out my skirt and brushing the sand off of my feet before putting on my socks.

Then I heard barking and I instantly hid. I wanted to see who it was, then I saw a man who looked no older than 30 come running after a really bushy dog who was stupid enough to come to a stop right in front of me, and bark.

I yelped, and when I looked up, the black-haired man was looking at me with a confused look. "Hello." He said, cautiously moving towards me as if I was some animal. My wings aren't showing, so why was he walking towards me like that?

"H-hello." I replied, glancing down at the dog before looking back up at him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, patting his leg, a way to summon his dog back to his side.

"I'm waiting for someone. What about you?"

He laughed a little. "Same. Mind if I sit?" He motioned to the rock I was now leaning on.

"Go ahead. I'm Yvaine, by the way." I turned my head towards the water and I thought I saw Kairi in the water, but her hair was lighter and longer. Then I saw something brown and I jumped up to my feet, starring at who I thought was Sora.

"Is something wrong?" The man asked me, and I could feel him looking at me.

The two heads were gone after I blinked. "No… It's nothing." I sighed, then saw the heads again. "Um, I gotta go. Nice to meet you…" He never told me his name.

"Eric." He smiled up at me.

I nodded before taking off in a run in the direction opposite to the city. I kept running until I knew Eric couldn't see/hear me, and Sora's head came closer.

"Heya, Yve." He said happily, crawling onto a large rock that was a few yards away.

"Hey." I said, jumping on rocks until I was out pretty far. "So." I said, plopping myself down onto my rear. "How long do I have to wait?" I asked, staying away from the water.

"We don't know yet. At least a day." Sora turned his head toward a boat that had a long fishing net. He squirmed a little.

"Don't get to close to 'em, Sora." I ruffled his hair playfully. "Man, I gotta find a place to stay before it gets too late." I looked down at Sora and he nodded. "Be sure to stay away from 'em, alright?" I grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"I'll make sure to not get close to the ships." He promised.

~x~

When I got to the city, the people were all excited over something. So I asked some elderly people and they said that someone caught a merman. I instantly thought of Sora. "Where is it held?" I asked, and they told me it was held in something called an aquarium, whatever _that_ is. So they pointed me in the direction of where that thing was, so I ran to it. And when I got there, a large group of people were surrounding a tank of water. I muttered 'pardon me', 'excuse me' and 'sorry' as I made my way through the crowd until I was at the front, and I gasped at what I saw.

A petrified Riku was pressed up against the back of the tank, his wide eyes flickering from person to person until he saw me, and then he almost instantly relaxed. I rested me hands on the chilly glass and he swam up to me, resting his hands over mine, something we used to do while I was learning English. I then asked him what happened in sign language and he responded,

'Sora and I were exploring the area and we didn't sense the fishing net that dropped over a little girl. But I saw it at the last minute and was somehow able to push her out of the way, but I got tangled in it instead…'

I was telling him that I was going to help him get back, but one of the employees tapped my shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss." He said. "But do you understand what this creature is saying?" He asked, and when I turned to look at him, he looked exactly like Kai. Same black hair, same light green eyes, and same pale skin. The only difference was that he was a little bit taller.

My lips parted a second, as I was at a loss for words. "Y-Yes." I finally said, nodding once. "I'm sorry, you just look like an old friend of mine." I rubbed the back of my head, unaware of the suspicious look Riku was giving me.

The man nodded once. "Well, could you ask this creature what his name is?"

I asked Riku if I should tell him his real name, and he said no, that I should make something up.

"Arioque." I said, and the black haired man nodded once again. "Interesting. How old is he?"

I signed nonsense and Riku raised an eyebrow at me, though signed nonsense back, jus messing with me. "He's 18." I signed, sighing. "Anything else, sir?" I asked, turning to the man with crossed arms.

"Just one more question." He held up his index finger.

"And that is?"

He chuckled, almost evilly. "You really haven't changed, have you, Denton?"


	16. Stealing a Merman

**The reason why I haven't been updating as much as I'd like to is that I'm grounded. Hoorah!**

"Come, sit by my side and let the world slip, we shall ne'er be younger." Kai spoke to me, which made me raise an eyebrow as he took my hand and kissed it. I saw Riku's jaw clench out of the corner of my eye.

"Haha, very funny." I said sarcastically, knowing that he just took that from Shakespeare.

"So, is this the Keyblade master?" He turned to look at Riku, dropping my hand and crossing his arms.

"No. What exactly are you doing here anyway?" I put my hands on my hips and glared at the Angel.

"Her Majesty sent me to check up on you." He turned to me and poked my forehead. "Making sure that her dog is still trained." He then took my hand again and slapped a pair of keys onto it. "So that you don't meddle as much as you should. There's a light blue painted house about a block away."

"How did you—"

"Please, Yvaine. I've known you this entire lifetime. Give me more credit." He crossed his arms once again, and turned to Riku. "To think you'd choose someone who's so much like you." He muttered, before turning around and taking a few steps. "I'll just tell Her Majesty that you're getting closer." He shrugged.

"Of course I'm getting closer!" I shouted, then realized that there were people around who probably couldn't see him. I turned back to Riku and told him that I'd be back once everyone has left.

~x~

I was. It was no later than midnight until everyone left. I was waiting in a rather large tree, my black jacket zipped up to help me blend in. When the last employee was leaving, I snuck in through a window and landed on a few crates that were full of fish food. I took off my shoes so that I wouldn't make any noise, and propped them up against a door, keeping it open. I looked around for any trip wires or anything like that, then when I saw it was clear, I started on my way towards Riku's tank. I heard some beeping noises and looked up to see a security camera, though it wasn't looking at me. Peachy.

_Hey, there's a vent opening._

I turned to the left and saw that Cody was right. I carefully crawled through it, thinking of where Riku was. Well, he'll probably be somewhere in the back by now.

So I started to crawl through the rather dusty vents, peeking through the openings until I saw his water cage. Since no one was in here, I kicked it open and, after putting on my leather gloves, grabbed onto the edge and hung on it, waiting for Riku to come to the glass. When he did, he looked at me like I was crazy, seeing how the drop was at least ten feet.

"Don't worry." I said, pulling myself back up, only to hang from my knees and grab look around. There was another pile of crates near the opening.

Hanging from my hands again, I swung myself over to them, landing on them on my hands and knees, though one of my knees slipped. Thankfully there was another crate under it, so I didn't fall. I stood up straight and dusted myself off. "I'm a professional, Riku. Remember that." I walked down from the pile and made my way over to him. "Where's an opening?" I asked, putting my hands on my hip.

He pointed up, and I raised an eyebrow. "If you wanna get out then don't be a smart-ass." He rolled his eyes at me and pointed towards the back.

"Great." I growled. "I'll be right back." I turned and jogged out of the room, looking for keys. A thief should know that all cages will be locked.

But when I got to the door that led to his tank, I saw that the keys were right next to the door. Stupid, stupid humans.

Riku was already at the surface after I unlocked the door, and the cage. "What do you say?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"You're totally hot when you're stealing things."

"….Okay. That works too." I wrapped my arms under his and heaved him out of the water, then found an abandoned water bottle and filled it with the cage water, then locked it again. I pulled Riku onto my back and started toward the exit, locking everything that I unlocked, and put everything back in its place.

"You're getting my clothes wet." I said, taking one of the many towels. I got it wet, making sure that I didn't get any on the floor. I then put it on top of Riku's head, so that he wouldn't dry out. "We're gonna have to go through the back…" I said to myself, looking around. "Come on." I adjusted the merman before running out of the building as fast as I could. Animals in cages make me sick.

"I have the bath full for you, since I can't take you back to the ocean yet." I told him, but when I looked at him, I saw that he didn't look too good. "Oh, shit…" I started to run faster, quickly unlocking my back door and closing it again, and then ran up the stairs and into the bathroom.

"Riku?" I asked, setting the boy in the rather large bathtub. The tip of his fin stuck out a little, but the majority of his body was covered in the water.

Riku gasped when his head was under water, blinking in surprise. "We're already here?" He asked, looking around.

"Duh." I said, taking off my outer jacket and putting it in the dryer. "Wait here." I walked out and into what I assumed was my room, looking for a new shirt, since that was soaked too. Thank goodness I'm wearing an undershirt.

I just changed into pajamas, since it would look strange to wear a shirt that didn't match the rest of my outfit. I put the rest of my clothes into the dryer and turned to Riku who was waiting for me, his arms draped over the edge of the tub and his head rested on his left arm. "So what now?" He asked.

"Now? It's the middle of the night, Riku. I can't do anything _now._ When it's morning, I'll go back to the ocean and tell Sora you're alright, then see how he's progressing. Then tomorrow night, if he's not done, I'll take you back."

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What will you do after you take me back? Stay here by yourself and wait hours for us?" He motioned for me to come closer, and I kneeled in front of the tub. "I don't want to go back. I won't leave you."

"But you can't stay in my bathroom."

He rolled his eyes again. "I'm not leaving." He said more sternly.

I sighed. "Fine, love." I kissed the top of his head and pulled up a chair. "What do you eat?"

"Fish, really."

My nose wrinkled. "Fish? Meat? Gross." I saw him raise an eyebrow at me, then sighed. "I'll go look in the refrigerator." I turned around and walked out of the bathroom and down to the kitchen. I opened it and looked around for anything, and found some actual fish in there. "Thanks, Kai." I muttered sarcastically, taking it out and holding it away from me as I walked back to Riku, who was in the same position as I left him, though his fin was flicking side to side patiently. "Here's your meat." I tossed it at him and he caught it, looking down at it. "I'll save it for later. I know how you don't like it when I eat in front of you." He said quietly, setting it on the counter.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright." I shrugged. "It's getting late. You should get some sleep." I stood up again and dusted myself off, and when I looked at him, he was giving me his adorable expression that I could hardly resist. "What?" I asked, cringing a little.

"I don't wanna be alone." He whined.

"What do you want me to do about it? I can't sleep in the bathtub."

He was silent.

"I'm not gonna!"

Silence.

"Good night, Riku." I turned around and went for the door, but he grabbed my wrist. "No good night kiss?" He asked me.

I rolled my eyes again and chuckled lightly. "Fine." I bent down and before I could really do anything, he grabbed my cheeks gently and pulled me into a kiss.

After we separated he smiled up at me and flicked some water with his fin. "Good night, Yve." He said happily.

"Good night, Riku." I turned around and walked out of the bathroom and to my room, too tired to do anything else.


	17. Confusion and Christmas

**I don't like it when people say 'Merry Christmas', because not everyone celebrates that. I say 'Happy Holidays' or 'Merry Xenmas'. :]**

"Yvaine! Yvaine!"

I hurried to get my newly washed clothes back on before running to the bathroom, were Riku was waiting. "What? What is it?"

"I was getting lonely." Riku said with a happy smile. "And you came very quickly." His tail swayed back and forth happily.

"Yeah, and that's because I thought something was wrong!" I exclaimed, grabbing my toothbrush that Kai left for me and squeezing some toothpaste onto it.

"Your hair's a mess." Riku commented.

"Gee, thanks. First you call me sexy while I'm stealing you, and now you're insulting my hair. You're _so_ kind, Riku." I said sarcastically with a roll of my eyes. I spat out the toothpaste under running water, washing out the sink. I wiped off my mouth with the back of my hand, grabbing a brush and pulling it through my hair. "What would you say if I cut it?" I asked, turning my attention to Riku.

"You would look cute, I guess. But then again, you're always cute." He grinned up at me.

"Are you high on bathwater or something?" I asked, walking over to him and cupping my hand under his chin, pulling it up for him to look at me.

We starred at each other for a moment before he started to laugh in an almost insane fashion.

"You're so crazy." I muttered, dropping his chin and ruffling his hair.

"Or I'm just tired."

"What, did you not get any sleep last night?"

"Maybe, maybe not." He shrugged.

I suddenly jumped. "I forgot to tell Sora that you're safe! I'll be right back." I pushed in a bowl of fish that I brought up at about 1, but forgot to put it next to him. "Will you be alright by yourself?" I asked, turning around to see Riku nod, his arms still draped over the edge.

I smiled at him before taking off towards the beach, unaware that Kai was watching me with Miyuki by his side.

And when I got there, Sora was waiting by the rock where I met him a few days ago. "How are you doing?" I asked, jogging up to him.

"Is Riku alright? Is he with you?" He seemed very worried about his best friend, it's almost cute.

"Yes, yes, he's fine. He's staying in my bathroom." I nodded reassuringly.

Sora looked at me with a 'what the fuck' expression.

"An old friend of mine has been following us and he gave me a house." I explained, shrugging. "But have you found the keyhole?" I asked, walking up to him.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, we already locked it. I've been waiting here for a few hours to tell you."

"That's great!" I jumped up happily and clasped my hands together. "Where's my ship?" I asked, blinking once.

Sora pointed towards a small island with a lighthouse on it, but it was turned off because it was so bright out. "But before we leave for a new world, we have to go back to Beast's Castle. I need to tell him something that I forgot to a few days ago."

"What did you forget to tell him?" I asked, my head cocking to the side.

"Nothing of that much importance. I also wanted to check and see how he and Belle were doing. When we left he seemed… moody."

"Moody? I haven't learned that word." One of my eyebrows raised at the new word.

"Really emotional, uneasy, tense." Sora waved his hand absently, meaning that there was more than one word to describe this 'moody' word.

"So he's PMSing?" My head fell to the side.

"Um… no. Only females do that." Sora's face was already burning with embarrassment.

My eyebrows knit. "I am confused."

"Don't worry about it." Sora shook his head. "I won't say that word anymore around you."

"But others might."

"I guess so." Sora took a deep breath. "Just…. Don't worry about it. Riku'll explain it to you."

"Hey, where's Kairi?" I haven't seen her since we came here.

"She's helping Ariel."

"And Ariel's…. the Princess, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yep. Even though she isn't one of the Seven Princesses of Heart."

"Why not?"

Sora was silent for a few seconds. "I don't really know. Maybe because she's a mermaid, or something." He shrugged.

"Well, that's stupid."

"Yvaine!"

Sora quickly hid behind the rock, just as that Eric guy I met a few days ago came running over. "What are you doing here?" He asked me.

"I could ask you the same." I crossed my arms and turned my head away from him, which made him laugh.

"Well, this might sound strange, but I'm looking for a mermaid." Was his response.

"A mermaid? Aren't those only in fairy-tales?" I asked, turning my head back to him.

"That's what I thought too, until I heard her singing to me after a bad storm left my ship in ruins." He looked down, almost shamefully.

"Don't worry, I know someone who's a horrible driver as well." I could feel Sora's gaze burning in my back as I mentioned him.

Eric smiled weakly at me. "Would you mind helping me look for her?" He asked me.

"Um… now's not really the best time. I'm actually about to leave for another city…" I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. "I'm only here to visit family, and since I found out that they're gone, I don't really have a reason to stay here anymore." I shrugged sadly.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" He looked at me with the same worried expression that Riku gives me.

"They moved overseas." I sighed. "And I found that out by a note that I later burned." I smiled. "But yeah, I really have to go. I told some of my friends that I'd only be gone for a few days, and we're going to celebrate one of their birthdays that I can't miss." I looked down before looking back up at his kicked-puppy expression. "But, don't worry!" I held my hands up in front of me. "I'll come visit here again, for you." I smiled reassuringly, and he smiled weakly back at me. "But until then…" I held my hand out to him, which he grasped and gave a firm shake. "See you later." I smiled, and ran off, back towards 'my' house.

Riku was asleep in the bathtub. So cute.

"Riku, love, come on, we have to go meet Sora."

No response.

"Riku?"

"He won't wake up for a while."

I turned around to see Kai leaning on the doorway, arms crossed. "You see, I put him under a spell." He smirked evilly at me.

"What? Did Her Majesty tell you to do that?" I summoned my rod, ready to attack.

"Now, Yve. You wouldn't want to start a fight in front of your boyfriend, now, will you? I mean, after all, when you get too mad, you do…_change_."

I was only glaring at him with bared teeth. "He'll find out eventually, you know." He stood up straight and revealed Miyuki, who was behind him the whole time.

"Didn't take _me_ that long to realize that you were-excuse me- _are_ a _beast_." She sneered at me, the back of her hands on her hips.

"Miyuki? How did you travel worlds as well?" I asked.

"Oh, you remember my name now, do you? I'm so FLATTERED!" She tried to jump at me, but Kai caught her wrist and pulled her back.

"Not now, Miyuki!" He exclaimed.

"What? What do you mean remember?" My rod disappeared, knowing that Kai wouldn't hurt me in a house. He's not that stupid.

"Ha, so you still don't, do you? You don't remember the lonely girl who found you as your _true_ form, who gave you food and shelter until you _abandoned_ her?"

"Obviously I don't." I crossed my arms.

"I was the girl you mistook for your mother!" She shouted, gripping her shirt where her heart was. "I was the one who looked after you when you got beat up!"

Oh, now I remember.

"You mean the girl who _let_ me get beat up, who _let_ them hurt me so badly that I wanted to die, but you had to keep _saving_ me so you could watch them go at me again? Yeah, I remember that girl. I always, _always_ thought about the day when I'd meet you again, Miyuki. You found me freezing to death in an alleyway as a dragon, then you took me in and went to bed, only to find out the next day, that I was really a girl. You then took me to your school and left me to go get a drink of water, where two boys came on and started beating me up. I got some of their quills stuck in my skin, and their venom into my skin. You came back and saw what they did, but you did _nothing_ to them. You enjoyed seeing someone who was less _miserable_ that you were-excuse me-_are_." I didn't notice that my rod, now a sword, was back in my hand, and I was walking towards her slowly. "You thought that if you let them keep beating me up since I'm a dragon, that you'd someday teach me that life is so scary that I'd eventually give up my dragon DNA to you. Well, guess what? One of your teachers realized what you were doing and took me away from you. That's right. Your favorite teacher, Sakuya." Her eyes widened at his name, and a faint blush also appeared. "He took me away from that hell hole you told me was a home. And yeah, sure, I ran away from him, but that's only because he showed me love, something you _never_ did. I ran away and became a thief, because being a thief is one thing I'm good at, since I could blend in with the night sky." I was letting it all out, which was something I've never done before, not even to Sora, the kid I told almost everything to.

"Oh, so sorry to cut the speech off, but we have a ride to catch." Kai summoned a dark portal and the duo disappeared without another word.

That ended way too quickly for me. They just left like that? That's so stupid! How could they do that?

I turned around to see that Riku was just waking up.

"I just had the strangest dream." He muttered. "That guy in black was with a purple-haired girl and they were telling you about how you're a dragon, or something." He was rubbing the back of his head, so I was assuming that Kai just knocked him out.

"That's not possible." I laughed lightly. "It was just a dream." I kissed the top of his head. "Now, come on. Sora's waiting for us." I turned around so he could climb onto my back, but in my head I was freaking out. What'll he do when he finds out? He'll know that that wasn't a dream, then he might get scared of me, or hate me for not telling him…

"Okay." His voice broke through my thoughts and when he climbed onto my back, that was sort of a bigger help, knowing that he's right next to me and that he might be able to read my thoughts like Sai can.

Wait, he's not from my realm, he can't do these things. Peachy, now I'm freaking out over basically nothing.

"Hold on tight." I said after he rested his head on my shoulder, probably still tired. "You can go to sleep if you want, I'll wake you when we're there."

He nodded sleepily, and within a few minutes he was fast asleep.

"Great, now I can travel my way." I said with a sinister grin. I walked to my bedroom and opened the back window, hopped onto the window sill, then leaped out into the woods so no one would see us.

And when I got to my ship, Sora and Kairi were waiting for me. "Ready to go?" I asked, slowing into a jog, the setting Riku in the ship which woke him up.

"We've been ready." Sora said in a teasing manner.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes playfully at the boy, walking into my ship with Sora and Kairi pulling them in.

I started the engine and within a few minutes, we were off, Sora, Kairi and Riku back to their original selves and back in their clothes. "So, back to Beast's Castle, right?" I asked, and Sora nodded at me.

"Why are we going back?" Kairi asked her friend.

"Two reasons. One is that I forgot to tell him something, I remember that he was mo—emotional when we left, and Christmas is coming up, and I know how they celebrate it, so I thought we should celebrate it like they do."

"Sora, you do know that that's _three_ reasons, right?"

Sora was quiet for a moment. "Shaddup." He muttered, which made me chuckle.

"What is Christmas, anyway?" I asked, turning my head a little to look at him through my peripheral vision.

"Riku never told you what Christmas is?" Kairi turned to look at Riku, who was fast asleep again.

"No, not really. So what is it?" I turned my head back to the front window so I could dodge anything that came our way.

"Mmm…. Christmas is like a birthday, but for everyone." Sora explained, which only made me confused.

"So everyone was born on Christmas?" My eyebrows knit.

"Don't listen to Sora. Christmas is when the Christians think that Jesus was born, even though he was born in like, August or something. In a way, Sora's right. But what he means by that is that everyone gets a gift."

"So it's like a potluck?"

"No, no. A potluck is where everyone brings food to a gathering." I nodded, now feeling stupid for asking such a thing.

"Anyway, Christmas is just Christians celebrating the birth of Jesus." She shrugged.

"Why would people get gifts on a fake birthday?" I asked. "Wouldn't only one person get them?"

"That's a good question. One to which I have no answer." Kairi responded, leaning back.

"So… basically, it's just when everyone gets gifts?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"Well, there are more traditions than that. You get a pine tree and decorate it with lights, you decorate your house with lights as well, and you put the presents under the pine tree." I could tell she was smiling at me.

"Then how do you tell which one's yours?"

"There's a sticker on it that says like, To: Yvaine, From: Sora, or something like that."

I nodded a little. "We're almost there, by the way."

"Great." Sora grinned. "If they haven't already done so, maybe we can go pick out a tree with them!" He was such a child, I feel sorry for him. He was only 13 or 14 when we was dragged into the role of the Keybearer. He never really got to be a child, none of them did. Maybe they were making up for it now.

"So you pick out a tree?"

"You can if you want. You can get them already cut down, or you can cut one down yourselves." Kairi explained.

"Or you can get a fake one." Sora pointed out.

"But that's stupid." Kairi said bluntly.

"Ours was always small, so I went over to Riku's house to celebrate." Sora chuckled lightly.

"Why go to Riku's?" I asked.

"'Cause his house is frickin' _huge_." Sora laughed lightly. "Seriously, his tree is like, at least ten feet tall."

"That big, huh?" I nodded a little. I landed the ship and got up to stretch. "We're here." I said, turning around to smile at the couple. I walked over to Riku and shook him lightly. "Riku, wake up." I said quietly.

He didn't move.

"Riku, you gotta wake up, love." I said, shaking him a little more.

No response.

"Something up?" Sora walked over to his best friend and I, tilting his head.

"Riku won't wake up."

Sora then smirked evilly and sat on Riku, which normally woke him up.

Still, no response.

"What if he has the same thing you had in Twilight Town?" Kairi asked, walking over.

"But he's traveled with me before." Sora muttered. "And he can't be out for a week! Christmas is in a few days!" He flailed his arms about.

"We'll ask Belle if she knows anything. But right now, we gotta get inside. We don't have any warm clothes." I pulled Riku onto my back and wrapped my legs around his thighs, grunting a little as I stood.

"You sure you don't want me to carry him?" Sora asked.

"Does that mean you think I'm weak?" I asked, turning to him with almost a glare.

He shook his head quickly. "No, of course not!" He exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him defensively.

"I'm fine, Sora. Now, come on. We gotta get inside." I started walking through the snow, thankful that my boots were almost like hiking shoes.


	18. Secrets Revealed

**Poets of the Fall. I love them so much. Their music always finds a way to make me laugh or cry. **

**Oh, and Merry Xenmas/Happy New Years.  
**

"Master, please calm down!" Cogsworth shouted, waving his wooden arms about as the Beast thrashed about. "Ah, young masters, thank you for agreeing to—" He yelped when the Beast threw a chair across the room, shattering it.

I took a deep breath and glanced a worried/scared look at Sora, and he was glancing at me the same way. "I'll try and be quick…" I muttered, my breath starting to get shakier and shakier. "Cogsworth, what I'm about to do _must_ remain a secret between us, alright?" I said more than asked, but he nodded in a slight scared fashion.

I looked at Sora with an even more scared look than Cogsworth gave me, but he looked at me with a brave expression, which gave me some courage. I turned back to the Beast and got down on my hands and knees, arching my back as black spikes started forming and scales started to cover my body. I clenched my eyes closed and opened my mouth to scream. I always hated changing into other forms; it was always so painful. My fingernails stretched and the scales covered my hands and legs, and they were now spreading to my face, my waist already stretched and my spine extending to form my tail. Black leather-like wings expanded out of my back and flapped a few times. My ears went to the top of my head and my face stretched out to form my snout, and when I opened my eyes again, they were an ice blue color. I was panting. That transformation took up most of my energy, as it always does. I turned my eyes to Sora who was looking at me with amazement. He probably hasn't gotten used to seeing me like this.

I turned back to the Beast who was glaring at me, and I could see some black smoke-like air come off of him. He then roared at me and got on all fours, ready to charge.

I roared back, my bellow making the ground shake. I charged first, head-butting the Beast and making him smash against the wall, and I heard Cogsworth's little squeak.

"Master, please calm down!" He exclaimed, running over to us, though Sora caught him.

"You can't go out now!" He said over the snarls, growls and howls.

"But Master…!" Cogsworth exclaimed, though Sora kept him still. "Yvaines got it all under control." He assured, looking up at me.

The Beast lunged at me once again, but I turned around and kicked him with my back legs, sending him to the ceiling, then back to the ground, where I jumped onto his back and sat down on him, chanting something in my head, a paralyzing spell Her Majesty taught me. Err…. Did to me.

When the Beast didn't move, I stood up and took a deep breath, not noticing that my legs were shaking violently. I walked over to look the Beast in the eye, his eyes burning with darkness. I felt a growl rise and fall within his throat. I bared my teeth back at him, a silent sign for him to stay quiet.

Cogsworth then ran over to his Master's side, muttering quiet words of worry. "Will he be alright?" He asked, looking up at me.

"He'll be fine as long as he doesn't move." Sora answered for me. "Right, Yvaine?" He asked, turning to me.

I nodded in response, and then started to change back.

After I was back to my 'human' form, Sora lifted the Keyblade that was now in his hand and did some strange cheesy light thing with Cogsworth and I felt some dark entity lift off of the Beast.

I swayed back and forth, most of my energy gone, and then I just fell backwards, but Sora quickly slid his arm under me, catching me before I cracked my head against the ground.

"You okay, Yve?" He asked when I raised my head again.

"Yeah, yeah." I pushed myself back to my feet, though I grabbed onto his arm to steady myself. "What now?" I asked, now leaning on Sora for support. Thankfully, he wrapped an arm around my waist and wrapped mine around his neck, that way it wouldn't look so awkward.

"I didn't think I'd be this tired…" I muttered, laughing weakly.

The beast stayed on the ground, and Sora helped me out of the room and back into the main room, where Riku was waking up again.

But something was wrong.

Where was Kairi?

Sora pretty much dropped me and ran over to Riku, shaking him. "Where's Kairi?" He demanded.

I sat on the stairs, too tired to really do anything else.

Riku's eyes widened when Sora grabbed his collar. "I don't know!" He exclaimed, shoving Sora off of him. "What happened?" He asked, standing up and running over to me.

"We calmed the Beast down, but he got rough with me." I said, sighing.

"Sora!" Riku turned around, but Sora wasn't anywhere to be seen anymore.

I stood up and summed up all of my energy, running out of the front doors. "Kai!" I shouted, clenching my fits. "Get out here, you coward!" I fell to my knees and Riku ran over to my side.

"Who's Kai?" He asked, blinking once.

I didn't look at him. I starred at a corner in the open area, where Kai emerged, still fully dressed in black. "Looking for me?" He asked, his hands folded behind his back.

"Where's Kairi?" I asked, ignoring Riku's confused look.

"Kairi? Beaver?" He tilted his head, his bangs parting a little to reveal his left eye that was always covered by his bangs a little. He straightened out his head and flicked his bangs to cover his eye again. "I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about." He smirked.

"Don't play dumb!" I exclaimed, standing up again.

"Well, it's a different man in your face. And so out of place that you can see anything there that you wish." Kai said, reciting Poet's of the Fall's 'Psychosis'.

"Kiss my bliss." I replied, crossing my arms.

"It's like I'm a welcoming freakshow doormat." Kai shrugged.

"Held in awe while growing fat in the head." I stuck a hip out.

"This is where we all see red." He grinned evilly.

"A big, fat, wet slab of red!" I shouted, running at him and pulling out my rod, swinging it for his head.

Kai easily slipped underneath me and stepped back. "I see that it makes you anti everything." He commented.

"It makes me want to shed my skin!" I shouted, thrusting the rod at him.

He took a step back and kept smirking at me. "Revelation leading to your psychosis and inspiration." His head fell to the side.

I hissed at him. "Digest another hallucination psychosis by recreating." I growled, chasing after him.

He laughed, pivoting on his heel and running away. "Happy till the next deterioration psychosis!" He called over his shoulder. He stopped and turned around, grinning happily. "For you it's a different notion of music and motion." He cocked his head to the side, dodging another lunge from me.

"A dance of light in a prosaic ocean, a delicate, nearly transparent creation of somebodies." I panted, ceasing the attacking for now.

"Soul on the screen has caught you in between." His smile turned to a frown and he glanced to Riku, who was watching us. "Of somebody's life on the stage and somebody's life on the front page."

"And this is where we should all see red." I said, looking up at him with hatred. "A big, fat, laughing mouth of red!" I thrust my right palm up his nose, knocking him backward. That move would kill any human.

But I remembered something.

We're not humans.

Kai stood back up, his head bent backward, and I could hear bones cracking as he snapped his head back into place. "I think I'm gonna start my own religion…" He muttered, fixing his nose as well.

"Seems to be the recipe for a new sensation…" I said, taking a few steps back.

"I think it's gonna make a trendy revolution…" He said, looking down at me. "It's quite the contribution to the unnatural selection." I saw black forms come out of his back, and I realized what they were.

He was changing into his true form.

My eyes widened and I dropped my rod, then turned and ran away, though Kai flew after me, tackling me to the ground.

"No, Kai!" I shouted, turning to push him off, but he was too strong.

"Change, Yvaine! Show him who you really are!" He shouted, pointing to Riku. "He should know the truth!"

I growled, though I was already changing. I remember seeing black, and I woke up again to Kai in his true form, a demon-like figure with black feathered wings.

I started to growl and I took a deep breath, and then unleashed a huge jet of blue fire at Kai, consuming him completely.

It was over in a few seconds, but all I saw when the fire went away, was feathers on fire, floating to the ground.

"Behind you." I heard Kai's voice sing, and sure enough, he was floating behind me, smirking.

"I think I'll leave you to explain everything, love." His wings covered everything but his head, and they changed back into his black cloak. "Have fun. I really don't know where Kairi is." He shrugged, before jumping down on the other side.

I bared my teeth in a snarl, before looking over to Riku, whose eyes were so wide I thought they could pop out at any second.

My ears laid flat and my tail went between my legs.

I saw the doors open, and Sora was back with Kairi, but as soon as he saw me, his eyes widened as well. He glanced down to Riku before dashing over to me, telling me it's alright.

Kairi had the same reaction that Riku did, and it made me feel like a monster. I lay down and covered my body with my large, leather-like wings.

"Yvaine!" I heard Sora shout, squirming under my wings. He looked up at me and patted my head. "It's okay, Yve. It's okay." He shushed, petting my cheek lightly.

_No it's not. You saw Riku's expression._ I said back, looking down, and my head on my front claws. _I'm a monster…_ I muttered, closing my eyes.

Sora continued to pet me for a while, then squirmed back under my wing and I heard him run back, probably to Riku and Sora.

I heard chatter, but I couldn't make anything out.

A few minutes later, I heard a group of footsteps, and hands on my wings.

"Yvaine." I heard Riku said, though his voice was a little shaky.

I lifted my wing a little so he could see my eye. I could see the fear in his, but he seemed determined.

He opened his mouth to say something, though he hesitated a little. "If you're scared I'm here beside you." He said, and I instantly recognized the song. Fragile by Poets of the Fall.

My ears pricked a little, but they lay flat again and I looked away.

"Yvaine." He said, making me look at him again. "I love you, okay?" He said. "Nothing can change that."

I started to change back, and when I was completely changed, I took a few steps back. "Even me being a beast?" I asked, rubbing my arms. My anklet jingled.

Riku glanced down to my anklet and then looked back at me. "Look at Belle and the Beast. He can't change back yet, and she still loves him. You have the choice." He took a few steps forward, and I a few back. "Look at your locket." He said, walking over to me before I could run away, scooping up the golden necklace. "What does it say?" He asked.

I didn't have to answer.

"Always. No matter what." He said, smiling weakly.

I looked down, tucking some hair behind my ear.

"I told you I'd help you get that anklet off, didn't I?" He asked, dropping the necklace. "I stand by that." He pulled my chin to look at him again. "Don't think that just because you're a… a dragon, will change anything."

"We're your friends." Sora said, walking over to me.

"No matter what." Kairi piped in, smiling.

I looked at them with a nervous expression.

"Keep going." Riku said, smiling lightly. "If you get lost I'm here to guide you." He said.

"And I'll give you peace when peace is fragile." I smiled weakly.

"So don't worry." He said, holding his arms out.

I felt tears form in my eyes and I ran over to him, hugging him tightly.

I felt Sora and Kairi hug me as well, until Sora pulled back and raised his arms into the air, shouting "Now for a group orgy!"

We all chased after him, laughing all the way.


	19. White Snow

**I'm writing another story about Yvaine and her father for an English assignment. Anyone heard of 55 Fiction?**

I was sitting on my bed, in my room, with Riku sitting next to me. He hasn't said a word since we came inside. I was only assuming that he was trying to wrap everything around his head.

"So…" He crossed his fingers and set them on his knees. "You're a dragon."

_More like a statement than a question…_ I thought. "Yes."

"For how long?"

"All of my life." I didn't look at him, even when he turned to look at me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

I could hear the pain in his voice. I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, my chin on my knees. "I didn't want you to be afraid of me." I starred at the floor. "You already know that I'm not human." I unwrapped my right arm and tapped my Elven ear.

"So why would you be afraid of telling me that you can change forms?"

"I can only change into a dragon."

"How about this…. Tell me everything you can do that humans can't. I promise I won't think any different of you." He set his left hand on my shoulders, pulling me closer to him and shaking me gently in a reassuring way.

I hesitated. "If I sing to plants, then they'll grow or bloom in a faster pace. I can heal other people without using Cure. I can see the dead." I glanced at him, seeing his eyes widen a little.

"I have to be in a graveyard, though…" I looked back to the floor. "Um… I can float." I shrugged. "That's all I can remember." I confessed.

Riku nodded a little. "Technically, Yve, we're all floating." He whispered, laying the side of his head on my shoulder.

"That's a depressing thought." I replied.

"Why?"

"It means that you can't actually touch anyone…" I mumbled.

The door opened, and Sora propped his head in.

"Ah…" He blinked twice. "Kairi and I were gonna have another snowball fight, if you guys wanna join us." He said, thumbing behind him.

Riku lifted his head off of my shoulder. "As long as you don't cheat." He said with a smirk, stretching.

"How can I cheat?" Sora exclaimed as I stood up, stretching as well.

"By having Kairi make the snowballs." Riku sneered, before walking out of the mansion, Sora right behind him.

I smiled weakly, following the two at a slight slower pace.

Sora slowed down to walk next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and shaking me a little in a comforting way.

"Cheer up, Yvaine." He said with a grin. "Riku'll still like you." He saw how scared I looked, then sighed. "Hey, if he likes you any less than he did before he knew, I'll beat him up, okay?" He unwrapped his arm when we saw Kairi already outside.

I nodded a little. "Alright." I murmured, watching Sora run outside and fall on his face. He started moving his arms to and fro, making some type of design in the snow.

I inched out carefully, this only being the second time in the snow. I crouched to the ground and scooped up a little, examining it carefully. It was light and fluffy, kind of reminding me of powder.

"Sora, what are you doing?" I asked, walking over to his shape he made, with Kairi's next to his.

"We made snow angels!" He exclaimed, patting off the snow from his clothes.

"Angels made of snow?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting. "Sounds useless." I muttered, wadding up some snow, making an orb of it.

Sora's eyes widened a little and he immediately ducked behind a tree, knowing what I was going to do.

I looked down at it, then up at Sora, who was just peeking around the corner, and chucked it at him, smacking him in the face.

"Dwah!" He exclaimed as he fell over, laughing.

"So how long are we going to stay here?" I asked, kneeling next to the fallen Keyblade Master.

"I dunno. I wanted to spend Christmas here, but then I remembered that we have to go to the rest of the worlds." Sora muttered.

"Well, there's always Halloween Town, right?" Kairi asked, kneeling next to me.

"And Christmas Town." Riku put in, leaning against the tree.

Sora puffed out a cheek. "Alright." He jumped up, almost hitting my chin. "Should we get going?" He asked, grinning.

I blinked once, surprised at how he just wanted to spend Christmas. He started to run back to my ship, Kairi following by his side.

"Why is Christmas so important to him?" I asked Riku, glancing down at his hand that was curled around mine.

"His parents broke up around that time, so he wants everyone to be as happy as they can be so they don't focus on the bad things." He muttered to me, sitting down next to me when we were in my ship.

"Everything's ready!" Sora called from the front seat, closing the door and starting to lift off.

I looked out the window when we were out in the galaxy, looking around at all of the stars.

_You know they'll find out soon enough…_

"Shut up." I accidentally said out loud.

"Hm?" Riku asked, turning his head towards me.

"Ah, nothing." I said, looking away.

_You know they'll leave you. _

_I _will_ kill you._

I looked down and away, only to look back up when Sora announced our arrival.

I looked around and saw that Sora was in some vampire-like costume, Kairi was in a witch dress, and Riku was in a wolf-like outfit. I looked down at myself and saw that I was dressed in clothes that were similar to my old ones. Everything was black. I looked at the window to see a slight reflection, and saw that I was wearing a slightly longer black skirt, a tight black shirt (my left sleeve was long and my right was ripped at the elbow) with a short black jacket that had a red border, ripped tights and wedge shoes that went up to my shins, laced. I had my black glove (as always), my anklet that was hidden beneath my shoe, my locket, my hair clips that Kairi gave me when we first met, and bandages around my right eye. It made it difficult to see, considering that my bangs normally covered my left eye.

"So where's this Christmas Town?" I asked as I jumped out of my ship, stretching.

"Over there." Riku wrapped an arm around my shoulders and, with that hand, pointed to a tree that had a door shaped like a three with lights on it.

I starred at it for a few minutes. "Cheesy." I muttered, allowing him to pull me towards the door that Sora and Kairi were waiting at.

"Come on, come on!" Sora said, jumping excitedly before falling down the tree.

I looked at it suspiciously, slowly inching forward. "What the…?"

"Your turn." Riku said in almost an evil fashion. He scooped me up bridal style and dumped me into the tree, then jumped in behind me.

I fell onto more snow, but this time it was incredibly deep. I got onto my knees and shook the white powder out of my silver hair, growling a little. "What the hell, Riku?" I snapped, standing up.

"You were taking too long." Riku shrugged. "At least you didn't land on concrete." He said, walking over to me and kissing my forehead.

"At least give me a warning." I muttered, crossing my arms. "So what now, Sora?" I asked, turning to look at the boy who was already running down the hill.

"Now, we go see Santa." Kairi said with a smile.

"Santa? Who's Santa?" I cocked my head to the side.

"You'll find out soon enough." Riku had his arm around my shoulders and led me down the hill, catching me whenever I slipped.

"Bloody snow!" I growled, baring my teeth.

"Relax, Yve." Riku chuckled lightly, walking up to one of the largest buildings in the small town.

"Here's his house." Kairi said, opening the door for us and walking in after we did.

I heard Sora chatting excitedly with this Santa guy, and when I walked in, I was thinking about a tall, skinny man.

Boy was I wrong.

This guy was short and fat.

I mean, really fat.

He had a long white beard and a red/white suit, with a hat that reminds me of a friend back in the Dusk Realm.

"Oh, Santa!" Sora said, turning to us. "This is Riku, Kairi, and Yvaine." He gestured to us in turn, and when Santa saw me, his eyes widened.

"Yvaine? Yvaine Denton?"

I raised an eyebrow in deep confusion. "….Yes?"

"Your father was just here."

My eyes popped open. "My….what?"


	20. The Necklace

**Watching Ghost Adventures at 11.08 PM is quite humorous. Especially when my sister's getting freaked out. I'm two years younger and I'm not freaked out at all.**

"My father's _here?_" I asked, my eyebrows knitting. "H…How is that possible…? He… My mother told me he died." I tucked some hair behind my ear, and the Santa man shrugged.

"Did he have brown/blond hair, green eyes and something of a beard?" He asked, and I nodded to all of those.

"From what I remember, yes. Did he say where he was going?"

Santa thought. "He told me to tell you that he'd 'see you at the Heart'." He waddled back to his desk.

"The heart?" Sora asked. "Is he talking about one of the worlds?"

I thought for a while. "I don't remember any worlds that would resemble the heart." I put my hands on my hips and looked down.

"We'll find out eventually, right?" Riku smiled weakly and reassuringly.

"Don't give up." Kairi patted my shoulder.

"I haven't given up." I lifted my head and looked at the three in confusion. "I've never given up. I just didn't know he was alive!" I blinked twice.

_Well, now you know._

Sora was chatting with Santa again. "Yve, Santa has something for you~" He called to me.

I walked over-Riku still by my side- and blinked when the short man handed me a box that was wrapped with blue polka-dotted paper and a white bow on it. "Wha-?"

"You're supposed to open it." Sora chuckled, grinning like an excited child, which he was.

I knitted my eyebrows, but opened it anyway. I pulled off the top of the box, and revealed to me a small key. I picked it up and saw that it was connected to a chain, like a necklace.

"What is it?" I asked, examining the silver key.

"What is the one thing you're chained to?" Santa asked.

My eyes instantly widened and I looked up at him, my lips slightly parted. "You don't mean…?"

"Not that, I'm afraid." Santa shook his head to my hopes of being free from Her Majesty. "I believe her name is Cody, right?"

"How do I…?" Santa waddled over to me and put it on me, though I didn't feel any different.

"It's not that easy, I'm afraid." The fat man shook his head.

I suddenly heard a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

I groaned in pain and gripped the sides of my head, falling to my knees.

_You can't possibly get rid of me _that_ easily. _Cody sneered.

"I… Don't have to." I hissed, falling onto my side.

I clenched my eyes tightly, and I barely heard shouts of my name, and they sounded worried.

"I'm… fine!" I shouted, trying to overpower the ringing.

Then it stopped.

And I felt fine. I sat up and looked around, and when I saw Riku, I felt an evil grin spread across my lips.

Oh, no.

Cody's controlling me now?

Cody made me stand up and take my hair out of the little half-ponytail, ruffling my hair.

"What? You thought that necklace would stop me from coming out?" Cody made me speak, my voice deeper, more masculine** [1]**.

Riku's eyes widened a little, and he, Sora, and Kairi all ran outside as quick as they could.

I felt my legs take off, sending me in a run. I didn't have any control over what I did. I summoned my rod and lunged it at Riku, jabbing him in the back. I ran over to him and turned him over so that he was lying on his back. "Silly, silly boy." I wrinkled my nose teasingly. "Shouldn't you know by now that you can't outrun me?"

Riku growled slightly, thrusting his palm up, smashing against my chin.

'I' stumbled back, watching the Islander scramble to his feet. 'I' started to chuckle, before the chuckling turned into insane laughter. 'I' flew after him, but was surprised when an arm wrapped around my neck, pulling me to the ground.

"Pull off the necklace!" Sora shouted from behind me.

'I' flipped over Sora and swung him over me, making him land on his back and knock the wind out of him, letting go of my wrists.

"Don't even try!" 'I' shouted, only to be pulled to the ground again by Riku.

"Sora!" He shouted, and 'I' saw Sora run up to me.

Riku forgot to hold down my legs.

So 'I' kicked Sora in the stomach, making him topple over.

'I' got back to my feet and ripped Riku's arms off of me, then turned around and saw Kairi starring at me, long enough to have me stare back at her with a cold stare.

"Cody." She said in a formal tone, her voice completely calm.

'I' snickered. "Kairi." 'I' said, playing along.

Riku then swirled around me and ripped off the key necklace, and 'I' fell to the ground, only to be caught by Riku wrapping his arm under my arms.

_Don't think it's over, fool._

_I never do, Cody._

"Yvaine?" Riku's voice sounded like he was looking up, probably over to Sora, who was wobbling over, still sore from my kick.

"I'm fine." I said, my voice sounding fine. "My body's tired, not my mind." My head fell back, and I took a deep, shaky breath.

"Yeah, right." Riku said, picking me up and flopping me over his back.

"Great. Now I've been hunted." I said sarcastically.

"Well, you _are_ a dragon." Sora said. I could hear the pain lingering in his voice.

I laughed weakly. "One of the last ones, too." I closed my eyes, allowing myself to fall asleep.

-x-

I woke up to Riku's body covering mine. We were back in Halloween Town, in some room.

I sat up right away, looking around quickly. Sora and Kairi were in a bed of their own. There was a single small window that made me feel like I was in some type of asylum, the feeling I hated. I saw the door was like an air-lock door, strange for this world.

"Mm…" Riku stirred next to me, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist and burying his face into my waist.

I took a deep breath, looking out through the small window. It didn't seem that bright, but then again, this town was never 'bright'. So there's no way of telling what time it is.

Peachy.

I tucked some hair behind my left ear, not really knowing what I can do.

Then I saw dust on the wall behind me.

I wrote in some numbers, thinking I could 'call' Her Majesty.

57.36. 81

The numbers started to glow dully, and an orb flowed out of the wall, floating over to my hands. I reached out to grab it without waking Riku.

"What? What is it?" I heard her musical voice that would attract any male ask, though it made me pissed just to hear.

"Your Majesty." I said sloppily.

"Ah, Yvaine; I was wondering when you'd update." She was speaking in my native tongue now. "What's happened so far?"

I sighed softly. "We're not making much progress. But must we travel to all of the worlds?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in a tired fashion.

"I suppose not." Her Majesty rubbed the back of her head, ruffling her curly now blond hair.

You see, Her Majesty's hair is like a mood ring. A more… attractive mood ring. It changes shades depending on her mood. Which is _STUPID._

"You must travel to at least five more, okay?" She waved her finger at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever." I said. "Look, I just wanted you to know I'm still alive."

"Not that I care." Her Majesty replied curtly.

"I know."

Riku moaned slightly again, and I looked down to see him shift.

"Gotta go." I shoved the orb back into the wall, only to see Riku turn his head the other way, not waking up.

So I just hung up on Her Majesty for nothing?

…..

Eh, not like _that's_ new.


	21. Slap Bet

**I found out that this girl I know is deaf from birth, but she speaks English just fine to me. She's so awesome. **

I've been waiting for a few minutes for the kids to get up. I got up earlier and walked around town, but no one was awake, since no one was around. It's been a few hours, most likely.

So I went back to the asylum (since I don't know what it really is) and went back to our 'room', and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until Sora finally woke up.

He sat up quickly and said something about a zombie and a vacuum. I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, and he was rubbing his eyes.

"What time is it?" He mumbled.

"Probably right after dawn." I sighed. "I've been up for a few hours."

"Really? Well, you wanna go look around; see if there's anything of interest?" Sora asked, stretching his arms upward.

I shrugged. "Sure." I slid off of the bed without waking Riku, and walked over to the door, my hand glowing blue before I opened it.

"What did you do?" Sora asked in a louder voice after the door silently closed.

"I made it so the door wouldn't creak when I opened it." I replied, shaking my hand quickly.

Sora looked at me with a surprised expression.

"Yeah, like you don't know that I'm a sorcerer." I said sarcastically.

Sora then grinned at me, allowing me to see little fangs where his canines were.

I couldn't help but smile back at Sora, even though it was a weak one. "Sora…?" I asked when we were out in the main area of town.

"Mm?" He asked, hopping onto the edge of the fountain, walking around the rim.

I hesitated. "What's your dad like?" I asked quietly.

Sora stopped in his tracks. He never told me about his dad, and neither did his mom. Was he a bad man like Riku's? I wanted to know. And after a year and a half of knowing them, I thought I should.

"Why do you want to know?" He asked, resuming his stroll.

"Well, you know about my parents by now. And…" I suddenly got nervous. "And if you don't want to tell me, it's fine." I waved my hands in front of me when Sora jumped down in front of me.

He took a deep breath. "My dad was awesome." He said with a faint smile, clasping his hands behind his back. "We used to do everything together."

"What happened?" I cautiously asked.

Sora winced a little. "Our world was in a war with another country."

He didn't have to say anything else, because I already knew what the ending was. "Oh…" I said, looking down. "Sorry about that." I rubbed the back of my neck. _This is awkward._

"Naaah, don't be." Sora was suddenly cheerful again. "He went off to do something awesome, and even though he died because of it, it makes me happy to know that he didn't die the cowards' way." He was smiling again. "Why? What happened to yours?" He tilted his head slightly.

I instantly looked down. "I don't know, really." My shoulders slumped. "I mean, all these years I thought he was dead, and now that I know he's alive again…" I shuddered a little. "It's unnerving…" I glanced up at Sora before looking down again. "I mean, my dad and I were never that close. After my mom left, he just… wasn't himself. He seemed more agitated than he normally was, and after a year or so he left. He told me that he was going to war, like your dad, but I knew that was a lie. We weren't in any wars back then." I sat on the edge of the fountain, and Sora sat down next to me.

"That sucks…" Sora muttered. "So you're an orphan?"

I shrugged. "I consider myself to be. I mean, my mom's most likely dead, and same with my dad, so…" I shrugged again. "I just don't know…" I pressed my palms together, set my elbows on my knees, and put my chin on my thumbs. "It's so confusing."

"Well, yeah." Sora leaned back a little. "But aren't you happy knowing that your dad might be alive?"

"No, not really." I shook my head slightly. "Because again, my dad and I weren't close. I didn't know what his job was; I didn't know what he did when he wasn't home; I didn't even know how old he was." I sighed through my nose. "I'd rather have memories of him that are more like yours, really." I confessed, blinking once. "After all, he's the reason why I'm me today."

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed in an offensive way. "What's that supposed to mean? I like you just the way you are!" He patted my back roughly.

"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes. "What about Cody?" I dropped my arms, leaving them to dangle on my knees. "What about me being a thief?"

"Those things just make you cooler!" Sora grinned. "You being a sorceress, you being a frickin' _dragon_, those things are all cool to me!" He turned to look ahead of us. "You're really inspirational, you know?" He said in a more quiet voice.

I snorted. "How so?"

"You've been through some of the worst things I can imagine, and you're still fighting. You've been shot, stabbed, all kinds of things! And yet you still have the goofiness of a regular teenager." He gripped my shoulder and shook it lightly.

"That's probably because of you." I smirked.

Sora laughed. "Most likely! But really, Yve. You're an artist, pianist… all those things, and you're still one of the nicest people I've met." He smiled reassuringly at me.

I took a deep breath, and then turned to look at him.

"How about this?" Sora grinned, almost evilly. "Let's make a Slap Bet.**[1]**"

"A 'slap bet'?" I echoed, not knowing what it was.

"Yeah. It's like a regular bet, but whoever wins gets to slap the other person in the face as hard as they possibly can, but no rings." He lifted my skin-tight glove that I always had on.

"Sounds painful…" I muttered, my eyebrows knitting.

"Yeah, but it's AWESOME." Sora laughed. "You wanna do it?" He asked.

"Um… sure." I shrugged. "What are we betting on, though?"

"If you become any less cooler to me than you are now, I win. If you stay the same in rank of coolness, then you win, okay?"

"Sure." I shrugged.

"Awesome." He pumped his fists happily.

"How about we make one now?" I asked, an evil smirk appearing on my face.

"What'll it be about?" He smirked back at me.

"If my father is actually alive, you win. If he isn't and we don't see him at this 'heart' place, I win."

Sora tapped his fingers together evilly. "I like it." He agreed.

"So it's a deal?" I held my left hand out.

"Deal." Sora took my hand and shook it, just as Kairi came outside.

She stopped when she saw us shaking hands.

"What happened?" She asked, looking at us with a somewhat worried look.

"We just made a slap bet." Sora said, letting go of my hand and jogging over to her, grinning all the way.

"Oh, no." She face palmed herself. "Why, Yvaine?" She asked, parting her fingers to look at me.

"Because I want the chance to slap Sora." I shrugged.

"Aw, what'd I do?" Sora looked at me with a pout.

"Nothing. It'd just be fun." I smirked.

"Please tell me I didn't just head 'slap bet'." Riku said, walking out and rubbing his eyes.

"You did." Kairi groaned.

"You two are idiots." Riku crossed his arms. "What's it over?" He asked, looking at me.

"My dad." I smiled at him. "If he's alive, then Sora wins. If he isn't, I win." I swung my legs a little.

"How will you know?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"We'll meet him at the 'heart'."

"And where is that?" Kairi and Sora asked, Kairi sounding disappointed and Sora sounding happier.

I shrugged. "We'll have to find out, won't we?"

**For those of you who know what a Slap Bet is from, you get extra points. :D And I'll love you forever.**


	22. Catching Up

**It's about 11.00 PM. I have CIM testing tomorrow. And I'll get up in about six hours if I fall asleep right now. Peachy. **

We were now headed to Land of Dragons. It's been about two days since Sora and I made the Slap Bet, and I was shaking slightly. Her Majesty said that we only needed to go to at least two more worlds, right?

So we landed and all that jazz, but when we got to the house where Sora's friend lived, I was shocked.

She lived in a _nice_ place. Like, the places I used to steal from, nice.

"Are you sure this is the right house, Sora?" I asked, looking around the garden.

Sora nodded happily. "Positive." He jumped happily, and then stopped when he saw a black-haired Asian woman sitting beneath a cherry tree. "Mulan!" He shouted, making the woman turn around.

She was simply beautiful. She had little make up on her face and was wearing a red/pink/white kimono with a light blue shawl. Her corset thingy was red, and had a green border, and her under-dress was a dark purple. She had a lavender flower in her hair that was short and neatly cut. "Sora?" She asked her voice deeper than I thought it'd be.

"Mulan!" Sora called again, running over to the woman. "How've you been?" He asked his voice incredibly cheerful.

"Kairi, I'm confused." I said, looking to the red haired female. "Who is that woman?" I asked, pointing to the Chinese woman.

"Mulan. She's one of Sora's comrades." Kairi shrugged. "She disguised herself as a boy so she could take her father's place in a war they had, but she was soon discovered and was sent back. Long story short, she saved this place." Kairi sighed, almost as if she was jealous.

"So… She's retired?" I tilted my head, not understanding what they were saying.

"Not quite. Since someone found her secret, they basically fired her." Riku explained.

"Ooooooooh, okay." I nodded, finally understanding it. "So what are we here for?" I asked, looking up to Riku.

He shrugged. "Valentines day, I guess."

"But wasn't Christmas just a few days ago?" I looked up at him like he was crazy.

He shrugged again. "Sora's insane like that." He walked over to the woman and his friend, leaving Kairi and me behind.

"Ah, Yvaine, Kairi!" Sora beckoned over to us, and Kairi pulled me over to the woman.

"This is Kairi," Sora blushed a little when he mentioned his girlfriend, and Kairi bowed politely. "And this is Yvaine. She's with Riku."

I bowed just as low as Kairi did, only to be surprised when Mulan kept looking at me. "I-Is something wrong?" I asked, my eyes widening slightly.

"No, not really. You just look so familiar…" She muttered, putting one of her hands (though all I could see was the sleeve), to her chin. "Was your father a man named Nayos?" She asked.

My eyes instantly widened. "Yes. Why? Was he here?" I suddenly became very interested in this woman.

She nodded. "A few days ago, actually. He brought mayhem to a village not too far from here." She looked down at that.

"That's definitely my father…" I muttered, sighing and rubbing the back of my head. "Did he mention anything about a heart?" I asked, looking back to the woman.

"He did." She nodded. "He said that when a silver haired female came here, to give her this." She dropped a small bow necklace into my hands.

"A bow?" I pondered, and then concentrated, thinking that it would do the same that my rod would.

And it did.

The bow grew in size until it was the size of a normal bow, and a light arrow appeared in my left hand.

I hissed in pain when I felt the light's warmth, shaking my hand to rid of it. "Figures!" I growled, looking down at my hand that felt like it was on fire.

Riku took it in one of his hands, muttering "Cure. Blizzaraga."

I felt the coldness for a moment, then the cure spell. "Thanks." I muttered, looking down.

Riku ruffled my hair in response. "Sora, did you have something to ask Mulan?" He asked without releasing my hand.

"Oh yeah! How've things been since we were last here?" He asked, grinning up to the woman.

She shook her head a little. "Not since that man." She shrugged.

"Then we have no reason to be here…" I mumbled, crossing my arms.

"Well, can we at least stay here for the night?" Sora asked, looking at me with his adorable puppy eyes.

I gave in like I always did, rolling my eyes and walking away, the sign to Sora that it was fine.

"Sorry about her…" Sora muttered, sighing. "She just wants to get home."

But that wasn't true. I wanted to be anywhere _but_ 'home'. If I returned then I had to go through with my orders, and I'd have to possibly kill those three. I rubbed the back of my head in thought. I leaned against a cherry blossom tree, looking up with a somewhat depressed look. I didn't want Kai to come back after what he did to Riku, and I definitely didn't want him to do anything worse to Sora.

I looked up to see Kai's twin standing in front of me. He bowed low and politely before taking a cautious step towards me. "Yvaine." He said his voice soft and gentle, similar to the way Riku would speak to me before I understood English. "How have you been?" He took another step toward me.

"Do not be so cautious around me, Sai." I sighed, my shoulders dropping a little.

Sai nodded a little. "That did not answer my question." He walked over to me so that he was just about a foot away from me.

"I've been fine. Stressed, but fine. Did you come under Her Majesty's orders?" I asked, looking from the ground to his light blue, almost white, eyes.

He shook his head slowly. "I do not work under her orders like my brother." I saw a slight look of disgust when Sai mentioned his twin.

The difference between the two weren't that big, but you could still tell the difference. Sai's eyes were a calm light blue, and Kai's were a haunting light green. Kai's hair was more messy and long, while Sai's was neatly combed and only went to the base of his neck, and his bangs covered his right eye, though Kai's covered his left.

That and the main difference was that Sai dressed in all white, more formal clothing, and Kai dressed in all black. Sai's outfit looked like a mage, and Kai's looked like a warrior's, mostly armor.

Anyway.

"So who do you work for?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sakuya-sama, who else?" Sai then looked at me like I had completely forgotten about my adoptive father.

I shrugged. "I didn't know that you were still under his wing."

Sai rolled his eyes a little, a soft smile on his lips. "Where are your comrades?" He turned to the circle shaped arch.

"Probably still talking with Mulan. They did help save her and her country, after all."

"Aaah, so you have been researching these worlds." Sai nodded a little.

"It's all for the mission. I must know what those three did here, and in any other world."

Sai smiled a little. "Very well." He leaned back against the large tree, pointing to a cherry blossom, making it fall from its mother and made it float into the palm of his hand. "Why do you think Elaine changed her name?" He asked, looking down at the flower.

"Sakura was a common name." I looked up to the flowers, remembering my adoptive sister. "She preferred Elaine to Sakura, anyway." I shrugged. "She wanted something unique."

"And Sakura is not a unique name?" He asked me.

"She also said it was too close to Sakuya." I glanced at him through the corner of my eye.

Sai nodded a little again. "That would make sense." He rubbed the back of his head.

We dropped that subject. "How is everyone else?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Sakuya-sama is still covered in work. Kichai has gotten used to his new outfit."

"What happened to the old one?"

"He incinerated it." Sai chuckled a little. "And Takishe has become the beta of his pack."

"What happened to Fernier?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He was deceiving Alpha and was killed."

"How can anyone deceive _Alpha_?"

Sai shrugged. "I do not know. You would have to ask Takishe how it happened."

"Yvaine?" I heard Sora call my name, and Sai jumped a little.

"I must go if your friends are coming. I can not be seen until you tell them about me." He hid behind the tree like a child would hide behind their mother.

"I understand. Go; I can tell that you've been here for too long and it's making Sakuya impatient."

Sai nodded. "Farewell for now, Yvaine Denton." Sai bowed, and then was gone in a flash of white smoke.

"Farewell, Sai." I brushed my hand through the white smoke, watching it go through my fingers. I then turned around and ran off to where Sora and Riku were waiting. "What is it?" I asked when I was in front of them.

"Mulan wanted to take you and Kairi out to get kimonos." Sora said with a grin, excited to see his girlfriend in one.

"But why, when we're only staying here for the night?"

Sora just grinned.

I dramatically rolled my eyes. "How long are we staying here?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"For a week." Riku said with the same amount of aggravation in his voice.

"A week? Sora, you're kidding me!" I exclaimed, my head dropping back.

"I'm sorry, Yve!" Sora cowered in fear behind Riku.

Riku just rolled his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest.

I started shouting things like "You're so stupid!" in my native tongue, then threw my arms into the air and stomped off to the guest room that Mulan told the tree, but I overheard them.

"Where're you goin'?" Sora called to me.

"I'm goin' to bed!" I shouted over my shoulder, storming off to the room, wanting nothing more to curl up on the bed or floor, whatever, and fall asleep.

.

**Hey, guys. Sorry about not updating for a LONG time. D: A lot of stuff has been happening lately. **

**Like the semester ended and I failed two classes(fuck you, proficiency grading), then this past Thrusday I found out that my Japanese teacher died in the morning, and when I came home I found out that my friend of about nine years died, THEN I found out that my sister's friend's aunt's mini-horse(who was my favorite) had to be put to sleep because she broke her leg. **

**So yeah, I'm still getting over that, and one of the other reasons was because I haven't felt the urge to write more in this fanfic. D: **

**But don't worry! After watching game clips and stuff, I've got the inspiration back! :D**

**ANOTHER reason is because I'm learning three languages, and I have to keep on track of that. HELL YEAH, THREE FRIGGIN' LANGUAGES. **

**Icelandic, Japanese and American Sign Language.**

**So yeah. I'll try and get an update every week. :] If not, feel free to say "WHERE DA UPDATES BETCH?" or shiz like that. :]  
**


	23. The Talk

**I might have a boyfriend by the end of the week! I'm so excited! **

"Is there anything you want to get today, Yvaine?" The Chinese woman asked me as us three girls walked by all of these unfamiliar stores.

"Is there anywhere we could get chocolate?" I asked after a few moments of looking at the stores.

"Chocolate? Why do you want to get chocolate?" Mulan asked.

"'Cause it's Valentines Day soon, and Yvaine wants to give Riku something." Kairi nudged me playfully, and that just made me blush.

"That's sweet." Mulan said with a smile. "There should be a store somewhere over here…" She led us to a store will all kinds of chocolate stored inside.

"Yvaine, you're the chocolate expert, help me get something for Sora." Kairi said as she clung to my side.

I instantly thought of the day where I first heard about this day, and couldn't help but start to laugh.

"What?" Kairi asked, tugging on my sleeve a little.

I shook my head, still smiling. "I remembered the first Valentines day I had here, and how Sora burned his first batch of chocolates." I picked up a formal box and turned it over, looking at the ingredients. "Well, Sora likes white chocolate. You can start there." I shrugged.

"How do you know that?" Kairi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He told me when we made them a year ago." I shrugged as if it was nothing. "And Riku likes dark chocolate…" I sighed, picking up a box of truffles. "This one." I said, smirking.

"I want this one, too." Kairi said, picking a box of white chocolates.

Mulan nodded and took our boxes and paid for them, then put them in a bag, then took our hands. "I want to buy you two some kimonos."

My face burned red. "Wh-what for?" I asked, blinking.

Mulan shrugged. "It's more formal." She said, bringing us to a store.

My eyes landed on a cobalt blue kimono with white snowflakes. "This one." I said, smiling lightly as I felt the fabric.

"Lemme guess." Kairi skipped over to me. "You like it because Riku loves the snow." She giggled lightly, holding onto my arm.

I blushed again. "I… It's not just that." I muttered, looking away. "I also love the color…"

"Uh-huh." Sarcasm hung in Kairi's soprano voice.

"It's very lovely." Mulan said with a smile. "Kairi, go pick out yours."

"I already have!" She exclaimed with a grin. "It's this one." She skipped over to a pink kimono (of course) with cherry blossom petals on the bottom, and flowers on the top.

"That's cute." Mulan smiled at Kairi as well. "Shall we buy them and head on home?" She asked, turning to me.

~x~

Mulan was helping me put on my kimono and Kairi already had hers. "What do you guys—" I gasped for air as she tightened the corset. "Do on Valentines Day?" I asked, my hand going to my stomach.

"We normally go out with our lovers and walk around at night with our lanterns, but I don't know. If you want to something else, feel free." She smiled; I could see it in the mirror in front of me.

She finished off the bow in the back, and then started to tie my shorter hair into a semi-ponytail, higher than I normally put it.

I took a deep, shaky breath.

"Yvaine, Riku's waiting for you." Kairi teased, the sunset making her kimono stand out more. "He's down by the pond." She giggled then walked off, probably to go meet with Sora.

"Thank you for everything, Mulan." I said with a low bow.

She just smiled. "Have a good time." She said politely, watching me leave.

Just as Kairi said, Riku was out by the pond with his arms folded behind his back, starring down at his reflection. He had a darker, less formal kimono on than I did, and his hair wasn't any shorter, or put up in any way.

I silently made my way over to him, dropping the small bag of truffles into his open hand.

He jumped a little, but when he saw me, he smiled. "Hell—" He saw that my hair was shorter, pulling a strand up to look at it. "You cut your hair." He almost seemed disappointed.

"It'll grow back." I shrugged.

Riku smirked. "It suits you." He pulled out the bag of truffles and looked inside, only to smile again. "Dark chocolate…" He muttered, picking one up.

"I didn't make them, though." I dropped my head, though stiffened slightly when Riku curled his fingers with mine, dropping the box carefully. He took my other hand and bent over, still smiling. "Hey, just because you didn't make them, doesn't make them less amazing." He said, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I also like that you got all dressed up for me, though it's gonna be hard to get those clothes off…" He muttered, thinking.

I gasped and slapped him gently. "I'm not gonna do it yet!" I exclaimed, my face red.

Riku chuckled. He took my hands again and twirled me so I had my back to his chest, his arms wrapped around mine. "You look stunning." He whispered into my ear, sending a chill down my spine.

I blushed. "Sh-shouldn't we take a walk?" I asked, and Riku chuckled again, taking my hand and leading me to a trail that led to a forest. "If you insist."

I walked a little bit behind him, trying to not trip on my sandals.

Riku walked slower for my sake, taking one of the paper lanterns that hung by the entrance. "Anywhere you want to go?" He asked, looking up.

"I've never been here before." I muttered.

Riku smirked. "I guess that's right." He thought for a few seconds. "Maybe we should go down to a river?" He asked, and I could hear the soft lapping of waves.

He then pulled me to the side, allowing a carriage to pass us.

"M…Maybe we should go somewhere else…" I blushed madly, and Riku smiled even more.

"Such as?" He asked as he stopped walking.

I blushed even more, and Riku tilted his head slightly. "I don't think you're ready." He muttered.

"But you're almost 20!" I exclaimed, then I quickly covered my mouth and squeaked.

"And how old are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Older than that, you should know." I mumbled through my hands.

Riku looked down, taking my hands once again. "Look…" He muttered with a deep sigh. "I don't want to rush this." He said, pulling my chin gently so I had to look at him.

"How can it be rushing when we've been dating for about two years?"

"Two years and 36 days." Riku corrected, though that didn't make his point any better. "Do you really want to?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I looked down and Riku dropped my chin, letting me think. "I just don't want to lose you before we go back to my dimension…" I muttered.

"And you won't." Riku assured. "Listen…" He was quiet for a few seconds. "If you really want to, then fine. We can go to some hotel or something. But only if you're positive."

I looked up at him. "But do you want to?" I asked quietly.

Riku shrugged. "I could care either way."

I sighed. "Okay. Let's wait." I said with a small smile.

Riku sighed again, almost in relief. "Let's keep going." He said after kissing my forehead.

I nodded a little, feeling foolish for asking such a thing. I followed silently, almost as silently as when I first followed him everywhere.

"Yvaine, get this off of your mind." Riku said after a while, though he was quiet as well.

I stopped in my tracks. "It's getting late." I muttered.

Riku sighed. "Way to ruin a day…" He rubbed the back of his head. "Come on, we should eat the chocolate back at the house."

I blushed again. "You brought it?" I asked.

Riku smirked. "Didn't leave without it." He pulled it out of his long kimono sleeve.

I couldn't help but blush at the small gift. "Do you know where we're sleeping?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head.

He nodded. "Mulan's father showed us while you three were out and about." Riku shrugged.

I nodded back. "Okay."

"We're sharing a room, if you're okay with that."

I felt my face quickly get warmer. "Um… If you don't mind… I'd like to sleep with Kairi tonight…" I looked down and away, and Riku curled his hand around mine.

"I'm fine with it." He said, and I heard him shrug. "Here, come sit." He led me to one of the cherry blossom trees and he sat by the trunk, gently pulling me down to sit next to him.

"Calm down, Yve." He rubbed my shoulders gently. "Here." He took one of the pieces of chocolate and gave it to me, and as soon as I took a bite I pulled back, snorting.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"This isn't like the chocolate I make."

"Mm?" Riku took a nibble from the same piece of chocolate. His eyebrows knit. "You're right…" He muttered, and then put that one back. "Ever since I first had your chocolate, I don't like any other types." He said with a small chuckle, leaning back against the trunk.

I giggled slightly. "Sorry." I rubbed the back of my head, careful not to mess up my hair. "My chocolate's just _that_ good, huh?"

"You know it." Riku nuzzled his nose against my neck, making me squeal a little. "Anything you make is better." He rubbed his face against mine that reminded me of something Amunite would do. "Yvaine?" He asked his chin on my shoulder.

"What?" I asked in a gentle tone, resting my hands on his arms that were wrapped around my waist.

"How do you say 'I love you' in your language?" He asked me.

My face turned red, and I was thankful that he couldn't see it. "Ég elska þig." I said with a small smile curling my lips.

"Yvaine...?" He then asked.

"Yes?"

"Ég elska þig." He mispronounced something, and I couldn't help but giggle. "What?" He asked.

"Here." I shifted so I was sitting in front of him. "Ég." I said.

"Ég." He repeated.

I nodded once. "Elska."

He repeated it.

"þig."

He said something like 'Pig'.

"No, it's like one of those Fig Neuton bars Sora had."

"Fig?" His eyebrows knit.

"Basically." I shrugged.

"So... Ég elska þig?" He asked it slowly, and I smiled.

"Yup." I stood up and dusted myself off, then held my hands out to him.

Riku grasped my hands and pulled himself up, though when he tried to kiss me, I backed away, leaving him looking somewhat shocked.

"C'mere." His fingers found the loose strands of hair that hung around my face and then worked their way around to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. His lips gently caressed mine and when I didn't reject them, he kissed me harder.

My arms slid around his waist, my hands grabbing onto his yukata.

He was the first to pull away, and he rested his forehead on mine.

"Ég elska þig svo mikið…" I muttered, my eyes closed and my breathing heavier than usual.

Riku chuckled. "What does that mean?" He asked with a deep breath.

"I love you so much…" I smiled.

Riku smirked. He lifted his forehead off of mine and looked into my eyes, which I thought was somewhat cheesy. "Ég elska þig svo mikið, right?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Svo mikið…" I agreed.

"It's getting late." He commented, glancing up to the sky. I didn't see his eyes quickly widen, though. "We should get to bed." He slid his hands from my arms to my hands, gently pulling me as he walked backwards. "Come on, I'll walk you to your room." He said, releasing one of my hands and led me to where my room was.

Once we got there, he slid his free hand back to the base of my neck and I arched my neck a little so he could kiss me, which he did.

It was a quick one, but once he pulled away, he kissed my cheek and my forehead. "Good night." He whispered, and then walked off for his and Sora's room.

"Night." I muttered, then quietly walked into our room, only to see Kairi wide awake.

"Hi, Yvaine!" She said with a wide grin. "How was your night?" She crawled to the edge of our bed, her eyes wide with happiness.

I smiled nervously. "Good…?" I said, unsure of why she was so happy. "What happened to you?" I asked as I took some clean pajamas from my inter-dimensional bag.

"It was awesome." She squealed, holding onto her feet and swinging her shoulders. "Sora's so awesome…" She sighed, falling back.

"You didn't do anything…?" I trailed off, and Kairi just blushed. "You didn't! Hold on, I gotta go change." I rushed into the bathroom and changed, then leaped onto the bed. "Okay, what happened?" I asked, my hands holding onto my crossed legs.

Kairi just smiled at me. "We didn't actually do _it._" She started, and my head fell back.

"So what _did _you do?" I asked, adjusting myself.

Kairi pulled the sheets over her shoulder. "He loved the chocolate I got him." She started off.

We spoke for a few hours of what we did, and we eventually fell asleep.

I was unaware of the thunderclouds rolling in over the sky.

.

**So this is sort of a day-late Valentines day gift for you guys. :] I'm almost over the deaths, by the way.**

**School's helped me get my mind off of it a lot, and so has my drawings and stuff. **

**But yeah, I'll hopefully be uploading weekly again. If not, then, well, at least my chapters have gotten longer(HAPPY NOW, KENZIE?).**

**So... How 'bout that review? ;]  
**


	24. Prince of Darkness

_Boom_.

I flinched, that single thunder clap waking me up. I looked up and saw that Kairi was fast asleep, and then _boom_.

I squeaked a little, pulling the covers over my head.

Another boom.

I jumped out of the bed and scurried under the bed, clutching onto my necklace.

I waited for a few minutes alone (Kairi wouldn't wake up) until I heard quiet footsteps and heavy-ish breathing.

I looked up from my cowering position to see teal eyes looking at me with a worried expression. "Yvaine?" They asked quietly.

_Boom._

I squeaked again and scrambled out from under the bed, tackling the voice's body, my arms clutching the fabric on its back and burying my face in its chest.

The body who I assumed was Riku's wrapped its arms around me, one cradling my head, and the other one resting on the small of my back. "It's okay…" The voice murmured, and I felt something press against my ears and I heard Poets of the Fall's 'Sleep' playing over the thunder.

Riku kissed my head gently and rocked me back and forth like a child, though stopped and his body seemed to tense.

I looked up and saw that Riku was focusing on something, then turned my head and saw Kai standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. The only way I could tell was because of his eye that glowed against the darkness. He made a snapping motion with his left hand and there was another thunder clap, and Riku's arms were gone. He was running towards Kai, Soul Eater clutched in his hand.

Kai easily side-stepped Riku and disappeared in a puff of smoke, then reappeared outside of the building.

Riku ran outside with me behind him, growling. He pointed the keyblade to Kai and used Dark Aura, though Kai waved his cape (A/N: Think of Phantom of the Opera) and it somehow absorbed the spell, and he pulled out his scythe.

"Riku!" I shouted over the rain.

Apparently he couldn't hear me. He shouted in aggravation and thrust his open palm into the ground, covering everything in darkness.

Kai jumped a little at that, looking around, but only seeing black.

I could see Riku run behind Kai and stab him where his heart would be from behind, though nothing happened.

Kai just stood there, looking down at the blade that was run through him. He tenderly touched the tip of the bat wing, blinking slowly. The corners of his lips twitched a little, turning his slightly curious frown into a wicked smirk. "Nice try." He breathed, gripping the blade and ripping it out of Riku's grip, making Riku lose his balance and fall forward a little.

I heard muffled shouts from somewhere out of my reach, and I got the feeling that Sora and Kairi were outside of the darkness.

Riku jumped back and summoned his blade again, but this time Kai quickly turned around and I could tell what he was going to do next, with the way he bared his teeth and hissed at Riku. Then, when he lunged for Riku, I quickly changed into my dragoness form and blocked Kai from Riku, wrapping my wings around the silver haired youth and making Kai bite onto my tail, which didn't hurt as much as I thought.

Kai hissed again and flew back, his bat-like wings appearing and making loud flapping sounds as he flew back from us.

I released Riku and turned around, baring my teeth in a warning snarl.

"Yvaine!" I heard Riku shout, though I ignored him, focusing on the Angel of Death.

Kai let out a high-pitched screech that would've paralyzed any human, and that reminded me.

I turned around and saw Riku clutching the sides of his head, groaning in agony. He was on his knees, Soul Eater on the ground by his leg.

I turned back to my 'human' form and shot a blast of fire at Kai which he easily dodged.

There was a blinding white light that came over the darkness, and it was so bright that I had to cover my eyes.

Kai screamed in pain, and when the light was gone, I slowly opened my eyes to see him covering himself with his cloak.

I turned my head to see Sai standing behind Riku with a look of disappointment on his face. "Honestly, brother…" He muttered, stepping over the human and making his way toward the Angel of Death. "You are not supposed to injure the Prince of Darkness." He muttered, kneeling next to the lump and picking up his cloak to look at his brother's pained expression. "I warned you what would happen…" He sighed, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"To think that you would cause such pain to me…" Kai muttered, his voice sounding more like a whimper.

I didn't realize that Sora and Kairi were by our side until Sora gave me a rough shake.

I blinked a few times and looked at the brunette with wide eyes, all of the memories of what just happened coming back. "What?" I asked suddenly, looking around.

"You were zoning out on me." He muttered, puffing out a cheek.

I blinked again. "Sorry…" I muttered, my head falling to the side. I turned my head and saw Riku now on his side, still clutching his head.

I scrambled over to his side and rolled him onto his back.

"What happened?" Kairi asked, watching me as I gently slapped his cheek.

"Kai used one of his death screeches and paralyzed him." I muttered. I called to Sai and saw that Kai was no longer by him, and he strolled over to me gracefully.

He kneeled in front of the boy and covered his eyes with one hand, muttering something under his breath. "He should be fine when he wakes up." He said, removing his hand.

"And when will that be?" I asked.

He shrugged. "At whatever time he normally wakes up." He stood up and dusted off his white cloak.

"Wait." Sora stood up as well. "Who are you?" He raised an eyebrow at Sai.

Sai smirked. "I come from Yvaine's dimension. My name is Sai, and I am Yvaine's guardian Angel, or whatever you would call them." He shrugged again.

"Where'd you send Kai?" I asked.

"Back to where he belongs." Sai turned his head to the gateway, and then sighed. "I must leave now." He gave us all a polite nod, then he walked off, out of our sight.

"Why is he so polite?" Sora asked, looking at where he left us.

I shrugged. "He was raised to be polite, I guess. He doesn't like speaking about his past, so I don't know a lot about him."

Sora nodded a little.

"I think we should leave." Kairi said, looking back to Mulan's house that was still in one piece.

"Yeah, that'll probably be best." I made a small grunt as I picked up Riku and put him on my back, and the four of us headed back to my ship.

Once we were up and away, Sora groaned a little. Either that or it was his stomach.

"Should we go to Radiant Garden and get some food?" Kairi asked with a small giggle.

Sora nodded a little. "Sure."

He used my warp again and we were now in front of a large, broken down building.

I was the first to get out, with Riku still on my back, and when I saw the building, my eyes widened and I almost dropped Riku, if Sora didn't catch him.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice strained a little with Riku on top of him.

I parted my lips to speak, but nothing came out at first.

"This is it…" I muttered.

"What?" Kairi asked, walking over to my side.

"This is the heart my father was talking about…" I looked at the busted building with awe.

Sora was back on his feet and he looked at the building with knit eyebrows. "You mean Hollow Bastion?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Sure, whatever. But this is what he was talking about. He's here… I know it."

.

**Sorry about the looong wait, guys. I'm taking ten classes and I've been sick for a really long time. I kind of forced myself to finish this. Every light I look at hurts like hell, even with all of the lights off. And it doesn't help that my mom's cutting up vegetables and making loud noises. ;; **

**But yeah, good news is that I finally have a boyfriend. :D After like, four years, too. xD;;**

**So review, please? :]  
**


	25. Vyaxine

**Prepare for the worst and pray for the best.**

"Oh, do you now?"

I turned around and there, standing in front of me, is someone I thought I'd never see again.

Vyaxine.

She looked exactly like me, though her black hair was slightly longer, her strands the same length as mine, with the rest of her hair slightly spiked and going to the base of her neck.

She continued to wear the Organization coat, and the scar over her right eye was still just as noticeable as they were all those years ago.

I parted my lips to speak, but no words came out until Sora spoke.

"Who're you?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

Vyaxine gave the three a sickening smirk. "You should know." She turned her gaze to Riku. "Especially you." She lifted her gloved hand and pointed at the boy to my right. "You claim to know her _so_ well, yet do _you_ even know who I am?" She asked, raising a slender black eyebrow.

Riku's hand slid around my right, clutching it gently, as if urging me to say something.

"Vyaxine…" I gasped after a few moments.

She dropped her arm and looked at me with a bored expression.

"How did you survive…? The… The whole Organization was wiped out." Or so Sora told me.

Vyaxine chuckled a little. "Oh, Yvaine. They tell me you're my somebody,"

Riku's fingers twitched and I heard a small gasp from Sora.

"But you do not even feel my presence. And do you know why?"

She was behind me in an instant, her hands lay hauntingly on my shoulders and her cold breath sent a chill down my spine. "Because I have been resurrected." She breathed.

I heard that she had a small smile in her voice.

"Guess by whom." She whispered.

I instantly thought of the Ninth member, since they claimed to have 'feelings' for the other, even though I knew that wasn't true, since Nobodies can't have any feelings.

Vyaxine chuckled lightly again. "That is correct. Demyx."

"That's not possible!" Sora suddenly exclaimed. "I…"

I looked at him with wide, warning eyes, silently telling him to not say anything else.

Vyaxine straightened out her back, and, with her right arm still around my back and hand rested on my shoulder, looked at the Keyblade Master. "You what?" She asked her voice colder.

Sora kept looking from me to my Nobody as if he didn't know if he should speak or not.

Vyaxine's hand slid off of my shoulder as she swiftly made her way over to the brunette. "Speak." She commanded, holding her hand over Sora's throat.

Sora's eyes widened as he realized that he couldn't stop himself from finishing the last sentence. "I… killed Demyx…" He said a slight sign of struggle showing.

Vyaxine's eyes widened in a flash, and she threw Sora over her shoulder, sending him crashing into one of the many stone walls. "You!" She screamed, her hair spiking up even more and her eyes changing from my color to a chilling ice blue. "It was you who took him from me!" She lunged at Sora with her duel katanas summoned, though I was quicker than she was, getting in the way of her and Sora.

"Don't you dare!" I snapped, my arms held out to the side.

Vyaxine's shaper canines gleamed as she bared her teeth at me. "Get out of my way!" She shouted, digging the katana in her left hand through my side, causing me to exclaim in pain.

She slid it back out, which only caused more pain, and watched me fall to the ground, pressing my gloved hand against the wound.

I could barely hear Riku's shouting my name when Vyaxine kicked me onto my back, though I remained clutching my side and groaning in pain.

"Now…" Vyaxine walked around my body, glancing at Sora to see that he didn't move, since he was obviously knocked out when his head smacked against the stone.

"Where does it hurt most?" She pondered aloud. "Ah, that is correct. You have hearts, do you not?" She lifted the other katana to stab me in my heart, but as I clenched my eyes shut, I heard metal clash against metal and Vyaxine exclaim.

When I opened them again, Riku was crouching over me with Soul Eater in his right hand.

"Don't touch her!" He hissed at the Nobody.

Vyaxine was in the wall opposite from us, slowly sliding to the floor.

She looked up at us with those chilling ice blue eyes, though she quickly snapped her head to the remains of Hollow Bastion, and nodded. "Yes, sir." She stood and dusted herself off, then pointed to Riku and me.

"Do not worry, my pet." She said with a smile. "I am only gone for the moment." She opened a portal behind her and walked backwards into it, and out of our sight.

Once she was gone Riku quickly turned around and saw that a small pool of blood had formed, and that my clothes were drenched in blood.

"Oh, Yvaine…" He muttered, kissing my forehead for a moment as he cast Cura on my wound.

I let out a hiss of pain as the wound closed, though when Riku placed his hand over the once-gash, it cooled down since his hand felt freezing to me.

I looked up at Riku, who was looking back at me with teal eyes. He blinked once before moving his head to the side of mine. "It's going to be okay, love." He murmured, moving his free hand to the base of my neck as he kissed my cheek gently.

Sora groaned slightly and Kairi was by his side in an instant, using the little healing techniques that she knew.

Riku used the last remaining darkness to send us to the front of a hotel, carefully picking me up bridal style and hoisting me into the building. "I'll be right back once I get our rooms, okay?" He told Kairi who nodded.

I leaned my head against Riku's chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. And sooner or later, I fell asleep.

Only to wake up to Riku exclaiming 'Dammit!' followed by a crash.

I quickly sat up and looked around, seeing Riku lying on the floor.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and when he saw that I was awake, he just sighed. "Sorry about waking you…" He mumbled as he got back to his feet. He walked over to the side of the bed that he put me on and sat down, rubbing the back of his head.

I crawled over to him and examined the small bruise. "You'll be fine." I muttered, sitting back again.

Riku sighed again. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked.

I nodded and unconsciously felt for my wound, though my fingers brushed against silk instead of cotton. I then realized that I was in pajamas, and I looked at Riku with a confused expression.

"Your clothes were drenched in blood, so I had Kairi change you."

I nodded a little bit, still feeling a little dazed, since I didn't even notice how Riku was leaning in closer and closer to me.

He brushed his lips against mine briefly, and then he kissed my cheek and forehead. "It's about one in the morning, -"

"What are you doing up at one in the morning?" I questioned, my eyes widening a little.

He shrugged. "I didn't want to sleep until you woke up." He plopped himself down on his side next to me, so that he was facing me.

I looked down at him and laid beside him, allowing him to protectively wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"Your hair is still wet, you know." I muttered.

Riku's reply was a grunt, burying his face into my neck.

I squirmed a little at the funny feeling that gave me. I turned my head and kissed Riku's forehead lightly, muttering a 'good-night' before trying to find sleep again.

_You know you can't escape me._

_I'm standing in the middle of nothing, with Darkness surrounding me. I feel a warm liquid splashing against my skin as I walk around, the liquid going no higher than the middle of my lower legs._

_I open my mouth to speak, but no words are created._

_I create a fireball in my hands, that now being my only source of light. _

_The water remains black as night._

_I continue walking until I hit what feels to be a wall. But when I bring the fire closer, I see that it's a wall made of corpses. I instantly recognize who they are._

'_They're the people you've killed'_

_I quickly turn around and look for the source of the voice, but there is still, no one around me. _

'_Reflect upon your past, Yvaine, and see the sins you've committed'_

_I turn back to the wall of corpses, slowly backing away. The wall is endless, and I cannot see the top of it, nor where it ends. _

_So I decide to turn and run as fast as my legs will allow me._

_But I trip halfway and the fire is extinguished, leaving me in the darkness once again. _

_I twist my body to see what tripped me, and my anklet is back in chains._

'_You cannot escape your fate'_

_I grip onto the floor and try to crawl away, but something grips me and gives me a firm shake._

'_Yvaine! Yvaine!' The voice is so familiar now…_

'_Ignore that boy' The other voice whispers._

'_I am your only friend, and the only one who will _ever_ love you.'_

_I am freed from the chains and I scramble back to my feet, trying to escape the voice, and the darkness._

_The hands grip my shoulders again and give me another shake, but this time, when I turn around, I see Xemnas' body standing there, and he's the one who is holding me._

_He has a wicked smirk spread across his lips, and he leans down to kiss me._

I instantly wake up and slap who I thought was Xemnas, though instead of Xemnas, it's Riku who I slapped.

He releases my shoulders and holds onto his face, a red mark in the shape of my hand starting to become visible.

"Riku…" I breathed, panting heavily. "I'm… I'm so sorry…" I look at him with wide eyes, and he's only rubbing the new bruise.

"It's alright." He growled. "I was trying to wake you. You were shouting and twisting a lot." He looked at me with an unreadable look.

I try to calm myself down before I explain what happened, though I didn't want him to know. "I just had a nightmare, is all." I place my hand over his that was on his face, feeling guilty that I slapped him. "I'm sorry about that…" I mutter.

Riku smirked lightly. "Kiss me and make me feel better."

I rolled my eyes and whacked him gently on his arm, though I grab the collar of his shirt and pull him to me, obeying him.

He pulls away first and chuckles lightly. "You're whipped."

I smash my pillow over his head.

.

**Okay, I'm SOOO sorry about the lack of updates! D:**

**First of all, my boyfriend broke up with me about a week ago since I don't like being all cuddly in public and he just HAS to have that in order to be in a relationship. Secondly, my computer breaks down and I can't access ANYTHING since like, last Friday(fixed it yesterday night), AND I have those ten classes, and in my English class I've had three major projects due. **

**So yeah, that's been taking up most of my time. **

**But I've started a new story about Vyaxine. It's kind of like 358/2 Days, but in Demyx's point of view instead of Vyaxine's. :P **

**I'll post it tomorrow. I'm tired.I basically forced myself to write this, so I'm gonna go pass out now.  
**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE AND THANK YOU.  
**


	26. Memories of Nobody

**"I'm not the monster you want me to be."**

_I'm running down the halls of my castle, a child again. My best friend Enginn beside me. People hated Enginn, due to the fact that he's a Neoshadow. But I didn't care at all. He protected me from my so called 'father' when I was still living with my first family. He's stayed with me through everything. He's seen what Cody is capable of doing, and yet he still remains by my side like a loyal puppy. _

_We're running and running until I bump into one of Her Majesty's servants, a man dressed in all white with raven black hair and chilling ice blue eyes._

_He turns to look down at me and kneels in front of us, a soft smile on his lips. "You should be more careful, young one." His words are kind and gentle, and no sign of anger can be heard. "You wouldn't want to run into my evil twin brother, now, would you?" His soft smile widened slightly when Enginn and I nodded in unison. _

_This man's twin brother older by a few minutes) was the complete opposite of this man. This man was pure and full of light, but his twin was evil and full of darkness. I never did enjoy looking at him evil. Though his face and hair were the same (except that this man's hair covered his right and the other's hair covered his left), the other man had eyes that could send chills down everyone's spine, being a haunting light green, though I could always see some red in them whenever he was in a foul mood._

"_Run along, you two." The man in front of us said softly, standing back up and patting our heads. He strode past us, his white cowl flowing behind him gracefully._

_Enginn and I looked at each other and I saw Enginn's eyes squint a little, which was his way of smiling at me, considering he didn't have a mouth. _

_I take hold of the Heartless' black hand, ignoring the chill of his grip as I pulled him along, down the hallway and towards the pond area. _

_And that's where we ran into Kai, the man in black._

_At first he's standing in the middle of the pond, somehow levitating on it. His hands are by his side with his black cowl flowing up as if he was falling slowly. _

_He turns his attention to us and his eye narrows. "Yvaine." He muttered, not even glancing at Enginn. "What are you doing here?" He demanded, though his voice seemed calm._

_I took a few steps back, my lips parted as I fought to find the right words to speak to this scary man._

_He starts walking towards us, and Enginn steps in front of me._

"_Go back to where you belong." Kai hisses at Enginn._

_And Enginn, having no choice but to listen to his superior, drops his arms and turns to look back at me with what I thought was an apologetic look, and he disappears._

_But then Miyuki shows up. _

_She darts past me and waves her arms frantically in the air, as if trying to get Kai's attention off of me. "Over here, Kitty!" She shouts, beckoning to the evil sorcerer with her arms._

_I take this time that Kai has his head turned to Miyuki to run away, heading for my 'older brother's room. "Sakuya-tama!" I shout, shoving the doors open with my tiny hands._

_My 'older brother' turns to look at me with his stunningly beautiful emerald green eyes, his gaze calm like the man in white. His hair is black like the twins', though it's far longer, and tied into a ponytail that trails to the middle of his back. "Yes?" He asks, his voice heavy with lack of sleep. _

"_Miyuki is being bullied by Kai again!" I exclaim, though I was panting from my running._

_Sakuya sighs and rubs the top of his head, and then he's gone in a flash of black flame. Even though he uses the Darkness, he's still a kind man. Even though he's a pureblood… _

_He's back quickly with a struggling Miyuki hung over his shoulder, with Miyuki shouting for him to let her go._

_He sets her down on his bed and crosses his arm. "So tell me what happened." He says, looking from me to Miyuki, and repeating._

_We both started frantically explaining our version, and I didn't know how Sakuya could understand the both of us at the same time, though he did. _

_Once we were done, Sakuya just took a deep breath and nodded. "I don't want you two going close to Kai until you're older and done with your training. Understand?"_

_Miyuki and I nod at the same time. _

_He nods, and then I hear my name being called from a distance. It sounds familiar… Far too familiar._

_I bow to Sakuya and my friend, then turn and run out the door, heading for the source of the voice. _

_I'm suddenly slammed against a wall by an unseen enemy._

And I wake up.

Vyaxine is pinning me against a wall, far away from the hotel we were staying at.

Her eyes are cold and narrowed, reminding me of Kai's normal expression.

I shove her off of me and swiftly land on my feet, turning around and running away as I summon my sword. I have no clue where we are. All of the walls were blue and there was an intimidating cloud of black covering the skies.

I can't find Sora, Riku or Kairi anywhere.

I skid to a stop when I see that there is no where else to run. A 'dead end', as the humans called it.

In front of me is the metallic building, where my father would be.

I turn around to see if Vyaxine is following me, and when I see that she isn't, I turn back around and jump off of the edge, changing into my dragon form in mid-fall, and fly up to one of the main levels before I change back.

As I'm walking, these images of Riku and Sora fighting shove their way into my mind. But there are three other people. There's a duck, a dog (I think), and a woman with green skin. Sora, the duck and the dog are all in fighting positions, with Riku giving some speech before stabbing the woman by his side with a black keyblade.

A black/green flame pours out of the wound and she starts transforming, shouting what seemed to be her getting more power from the darkness with the weapon.

But that's all I'm able to see until I snap out of it, and I find myself in the room where that battle took place. I look around and take in my surroundings. It reminds me of an old castle in my realm, though not as beat down as this one is. I continue on my way until I'm in a room where there are capsules, three on either side of me. They're all empty.

I can see a giant heartless symbol on the floor in front of me, with a shimmering portal-like doorway at the top of some stairs that curl around a platform. I start walking towards it until I step on one of the stairs.

Another image flashes through my mind.

_I can see Sora and Riku battling at the top of the area, though it looks like I'm hiding from them behind some broken machinery. _

_I catch a glimpse of Riku's eyes, and they're more green than blue, like they are now. I think of the old theory that Sakuya once told me about. He says that for certain people, that if their eyes are green that they're bad people, and if they're blue, that they're good. Whenever he tells me this, I think of Sai and Kai, the 'good' and 'bad' twins. _

_I turn my attention back to the boys fighting, and Sora brings down his keyblade on him one more time, and Riku staggers back at first, but he then drops his keyblade, falls to the ground, and quickly fades away, though his keyblade remains._

_The duck shouts something, and is then followed by the dog shouting something, and Sora walks over to the portal, pointing his keyblade at it._

_The dog exclaims how it won't 'work', and that it isn't finished yet, and then suggests that they wake Kairi up, who's still knocked out on the floor. _

_Sora then walks over to the keyblade that Riku left behind and examines it. _

_His companions shout at him to wait, but Sora just grins at them before stabbing his heart with the keyblade, and six hearts flow out of the keyblade, returning to the capsules I just saw, but now they have the six Princesses of Heart in them._

_The last heart bursts out of Sora's chest and floats over to Kairi, and as Sora fades away, a different figure, one with the same face as Sora but with blond hair styled a different way walks out of the area, and I follow it without my say-so, chasing after the figure._

_Once we're out of earshot, I call to the figure, and he turns to me, eyes wide._

I snap out of it with a gasp, staggering backwards with my hand clutched to my chest, where my heart is. I hit the wall as my legs threaten to give out on me.

I clutch my head with my other hand, my ears ringing. I need to get out of here. I turn back to the entrance, but I see the two figures standing in the way, though I can see through them. They don't seem to notice me.

"You need to come with me." One of the figures say, holding its hand out to the other. It's wearing the Organization coat and its hood is pulled up, so I can't see its face.

But I recognize the voice.

I was going through Vyaxine's memories.

I clench my eyes shut and let out a shout, darting past the figures and out of the room, my legs carrying me throughout the castle that I've never even seen without one wrong turn.

I open my eyes, and I'm no longer in the castle.

How am I getting everywhere so quickly?

I'm now standing in the middle of what seems to be a broken down building, one pillar on each of the corners of the stoned square.

I walk up to one of the pillars, only to have another 'memory' when I touch it.

_This time I'm watching as Demyx fades to darkness, screaming in agony as he dissolves. _

_I'm clutching a broken stone with a death grip, stopping myself from running to his side. _

_Sora and his two companions walk off to fight another battle. _

_Once they're gone, I'm running to Demyx's remains, falling to my knees. _

The memories become shorter and shorter.

I hear a loud crash back closer to the town, so I run to see what's happening.

I only have to turn the corner, and I see a beat-up Riku hopping down from a dent in the wall battling Vyaxine, who doesn't seem to have a single cut on her.

I open my mouth to shout his name, but I only think that it would get him distracted, and to Vyaxine's advantage.

So instead, I rush in front of him before Vyaxine can bring one of her katanas down on him, blocking it with what I thought was one of my own katanas.

Vyaxine growls in disapproval, her eyes narrowing as she glares into mine.

But they widen in alarm soon and she leaps backwards, pulling her katanas up in a defensive way.

I knit my eyebrows, but I soon realize why she's so alarmed.

For I am not holding my katanas anymore.

I'm now wielding a keyblade.

**I am so incredibly sorry for the lack of updates. I've just been so incredibly stressed out that I haven't really slept for like, three days now. **

**That, and I've been in a writers block since forEVER, and that hasn't helped. But now that I have this up, I'm crazy excited to keep writing. 8D**

**Though I probably won't update for a while since I'm grounded and I can't get on the computer as much as I'd like to, and I'm only able to sneak on whenever my mom isn't home. :P**

**EDIT: Miyuki is NOT-I repeat NOT- my character. She belongs to the awesome and HOT writer . GO CHECK HER STUFF OUT NAO. IS AMAZING. 8D**


	27. Questions from Strangers

**"That which does not kill me, makes me stronger."**

**-Unknown**

**.**

Chapter 26

**.**

"Impossible…" Vyaxine breathes as she continues backing away from me.

I sense the temperature drop a little, and out of my pretrial vision, I can see the sun start to retreat into the stars.

I hear a soft _clunk_, and I can only think that Riku has fallen to the ground, the clunk being his keyblade hitting the ground.

But I can't turn and look for myself, for Vyaxine has snapped out of her shock and is now darting for me, but I'm quicker, dodge-rolling out of the way, holding my new keyblade (that looks strangely like the Ultima Weapon) in a similar way that Ventus held it.

Vyaxine growls at me and her eyes turn the haunting blood red color, baring her sharp canines at me.

I mimic her, though my eyes aren't red yet.

We then both lunge at the other at the same time, bringing our weapons up to have them clash against each other, sending sparks flying.

_Fira._

I shove my hand against Vyaxine's stomach as fire engulfs my hand, making her yelp in pain and jump away from me, clutching her gut.

She looks down at her wound, and then looks up at me with a death glare, and the darkness that she controls starts to show itself. The black flames appear on her hands, covering them without burning her. She summons her swords away and starts to walk towards me in an intimidating way, actually making me back up a little.

_Let me out…_

I try to ignore Cody's voice, seeing how long I can go without needing her help.

Vyaxine suddenly darts towards me with an angry shout, jumping at me.

I quickly ducked out of the way, sliding under her legs and quickly getting back up to my feet to hold my hand out in front of me, palm out, to make a shield against the darkness that she sent my way.

The shield disappears and I watch Vyaxine as she tries so hard to attack me, though all I do is avoiding her moves, either blocking them or moving out of the way.

"What are you waiting for?" She demanded, stomping her foot like an angry horse. "I don't want to fight you!" I exclaim as I dodge her throwing one of her dark balls. "Please, Vyaxine! What did Riku do?" I shouted over the dark whirring sound of the Darkness.  
"He killed Zexion!" She shouted back, tears brimming her eyes, which confused me, considering she doesn't actually have feelings. Though, I could understand why she would be to upset, since Zexion was one of her mentors. He taught her how to control her darkness and how to use magic.  
"Think about everyone you've killed!" Came my reply as I cast fira on her, singing the edge of her left sleeve.

Vyaxine opened her mouth to speak, but she was silent.

I took that moment to attack, teleporting behind her and slicing through…

…Nothing?

Vyaxine somehow disappeared right before my sword went through her, and now she was no where to be found.

Panting, I scrambled over to Riku's side, turning him onto his back, since he was on his stomach.

His face was cut up so badly that I barely recognized him, and the blood that was caked over his face didn't help. I looked at his chest to see his vests horribly cut up and torn, showing blood oozing out of his wounds.

"Oh, Omega…" I muttered, quickly searching my pockets for a potion.

No such luck.

I thought of what one of my guardians told me to do if someone was dying.

"_Now, Yvaine." A white haired man, no older than 25, walks over to me, a grin exposing his white teeth and bringing out his fire orange eyes and fair skin. "Whenever someone is dying, it is very important that you keep their heart beating."_

_I'm sitting on a bench, holding my ankles, with Miyuki sitting next to me, her legs crossed and leaning back on her palms. She seems very bored with this._

"_What you have to do, is that you have to hold one hand over their heart…" He summons a fake body and presses his hand to where the heart would be, and then his hand slowly starts sinking into the skin. "Make sure that you don't puncture the heart and that you can easily…" He yanks his hand out of the body and presses his lips to the fake human's, breathing into the creature._

_Miyuki and I watch in amazement._

I didn't remember what Sakuya told us to do. I turned my head side to side, looking for anyone that could help. No one. I picked up the silver-haired youth and pulled him onto my back, praying for Omega to help me get him help, and fast.

_You could just _fly_ away…_

My mind wandered to when I first came to Destiny Islands, and how I would never stay asleep for more than an hour when I was at Sora's house. I would often take off for the play island, making sure no one saw me before I left. But whenever I went there at around 3, Riku would always be there, working on my ship before Sora took over.

"Yvaine!" I heard a high-pitched female call my name and I turned to the left, Kairi waving to me in front of a curved wooden door. She beckoned to me and I followed her inside the house, quickly glancing at the other humans that were inside the house as I rested Riku down on a couch that Kairi prepared.

"What happened?" One of the men, a blond haired adult with a piece of hay or something sticking out of his lips.

"We were attacked." I responded. "By… my sister." I didn't know if they knew about Nobodies, so I kept it vague.

"Yvaine, they know." Kairi set a hand on my shoulder before walking off, hopefully for a potion.

"Was it one of the Organization?" The blond male asked again.

"Impossible." A brown haired boy, probably early 20s growled, and I noticed that he had a scar that went across the bridge of his nose in a diagonal line. "They're all dead." He looked at me with a questioning look.

"Not one." I answered to the previous question. I took a deep breath. "Number XIV." I looked down. "Vyaxine. My nobody." I didn't want to make eye contact with anyone, because I could feel their confused looks. "She hid from Sora as he finished the rest of them off. She knew that if he did that, that she would be Number 1. She claims to be Number XIV, but she was born before Roxas, technically. But since she was found later on, she has taken that number. She is becoming more and more powerful as I linger here, gaining more experience than I could ever hope to have." I sighed. "Any questions?" I finally looked up at all of them, their expressions thoughtful.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Sora was the first one to speak, sitting down at the edge of a circular platform with his elbows on his knees and his face set on his palms.

I saw that he looked hurt, so I looked back down at my hands as I sat on the edge of the couch. "I didn't want you to ask questions of how she came to be." I muttered.

"You don't have to be afraid of that. We're smart enough to know not to ask questions if you don't want to answer them." Sora hopped off of the platform and got on his knees in front of me. "But we're going to have to see the king if he knows about any of this." He said his voice gentle. I looked up at him nervously.

"Another ruler?" My expression turned from nervousness to slight fear.

"Don't worry; this one is _nothing_ like Her Majesty." Sora rested his gloved hands on my knees comfortingly, looking up at me with a weak smile.

"But how am I to face him?" I asked.

"Like this!" Sora said, pressing his hands to his cheeks and making a fish-like face.

I snorted, and then let out a little laugh, leaning back slightly. I saw Kairi smile, as if it brought back a memory.

"So come on, Riku needs his rest." Sora took my hands in his and made me stand up, bringing me over to the group who were standing in a semicircle. "Everyone; introduce yourselves!" He proclaimed, still holding one of my hands.

"The name's Cid." The old blond man said, brushing his nose with his thumb.

"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!" The small black haired Asian exclaimed, throwing an arm into the air.

"I'm Aerith, pleasure." A brown haired girl in pink bowed politely to me.

"Leon." The young-ish brown haired male said, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm Yvaine." I nodded politely to them.

"She's a soldier!" Sora exclaimed, making my face burn.

"Really?" Yuffie asked, skipping over to me and walking around me, examining my body. "You seem to lack the muscle." She muttered.

"I could say the same to you, Ms. Ninja." I said, my voice cold. That made her giggle and walk back to the others.

"What rank are you?" Leon asked, his voice showing almost no emotion.

"First Knight." He gave me a confused look.

"That's the highest you can get." Sora answered for me. "She's next in line for the throne!" He took hold of my shoulders and shook me lightly, seeming excited for that.

"If you're next in line, then why are you here?" The soft-spoken Aerith asked.

"I had to come get these guys," I thumbed behind me. "Because Her Majesty wanted me to. This is my last mission before I am officially the heir."

"Does 'Her Majesty' have any kids?"

"Two, but she disowned one because he went insane. Her daughter doesn't want to be ruler, so she said that I will take her place."

"You _will?_" Leon asked. "You don't have a choice?" I shook my head.

"If someone of royal blood wants a soldier to do something, then we have no choice." I shrugged, watching as Aerith said goodnight to all of us and walked out of the building, Yuffie following by her side. "How late is it?" I wondered aloud, turning to Sora.

"I 'unno." He put his hands behind his head and crossed his legs, even though he was still standing up. "You came back pretty late."

"Yeah… Vyaxine kept me busy…" I muttered, turning my attention to Riku who stirred in his sleep. "Where are we going to stay?" I asked, looking back at Sora.

"Well, we can't go anywhere without making Riku's wounds worse, so we'll have to stay here for the night." Kairi responded.

"But knowing you, you'll probably wanna stay next to Riku, huh?" Sora nudged me teasingly, and I punched him in the arm, even though it was true. The Keyblade master only laughed and rubbed his arm.

"I'll fetch a chair." An old man said as he appeared in a puff of smoke. So he's a magician…

"Thank you." I nodded politely as he brought me a comfortable chair, though I didn't sit in it yet. "What about you two?" I looked at Sora and Kairi with a look of guilt.

"We'll be right upstairs." Sora pointed up with a smile.

"So if you need anything, we'll be right upstairs." Kairi smiled at me before hugging me goodnight and walking upstairs, leaving the group to be me, Cid, Leon, Sora, and the magician, who soon disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"So you two sleep tight, kay?" Cid asked, walking over to Sora and ruffling his hair. "G'night, Yvaine." He said, nodding my way.

Leon just did a very small wave, and the two were gone after that.

"You're not gonna go to bed?" I asked Sora, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. The boy shook his head.

"I'm worried about Riku, too. I mean, he's been my best friend since forever." He looked at the silver haired teenager with a small smile, almost as if he was remembering something of his past, like Kairi was a few minutes ago.

"Should I go get a chair?" I asked, motioning for him to sit on the one the wizard gave me.

"No need." Sora shook his head a little bit. "But… what are we gonna _actually _do when we get to your realm?" He asked, sitting down on the arm of the chair.

I took a deep breath. "There are nobodies in my realm, too. And before I left, I didn't have this." I summoned my completely black keyblade into my hand. It looked almost exactly like the Ultima Weapon, aside from it being completely black, and the handle looked like it had vines sprouting from it, curling around my hand to make sure I had a good grip. The keychain was also just a chain with a small black bell at the end. "So getting rid of them was out of the question." I sighed.

Sora's eyes widened a little at the sight of my new weapon, but he quickly turned serious again. "Okay." He took a deep breath, only resulting in him yawning. "Well, that's a sign for me to go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow, after all." He grinned at me, as if he was excited. "G'night, Yve." He said, giving me a tight hug before walking off upstairs, stretching his arms over his head.

I smiled as I watched him leave, though chills soon ran through my spine as I heard these next six words.

"Well, I thought they'd never leave."

I turned to the doorway and my eyes widened at the sight of who was there.

"Miyuki…"

.~.

**Okay, I am SOO sorry for taking FOREVER to upload. Writers block is a bitch, lemme tell ya. And it's 1 AM here, I'm pretty sure my mom can hear my loud keyboard, and I'm seriously about to pass out.**

**So lemme say again, I'm SORRY it took me so long. I literally _forced_ myself to finish this. I was all, "NO SLEEP UNLESS YOU FINISH." But now I have, and that makes me happy. So, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go pass out.**

**ARE YOU HAPPY IT'S OUT NOW, COLEXIN? 3**


	28. Of Baby Chocobos and Nobodies

"What are you doing?"  
"I'm trying to put them in alphabetic order..."  
"They all say M...&M."  
-Sora and Riku from _The Sora Show_

.

Chapter 28

.

The dyed purple haired girl slowly made her way over to me, raising her hands to her head. "I don't wanna fight. Just have an actual conversation before Kai comes back." She said, leaning against a wall with her arms now crossed.

"An actual conversation about what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as she looked at Riku with a look that reminded me of remorse.

"Anything, really. What happened to us after my parents died and I left." She shrugged.

"You mean you _abandoned_ me." I hissed, looking at her with a cold expression.

"It's not like it was my choice." Miyuki sighed through her nose, blinking slowly. "I had to leave D'sku sooner or later, anyway."

"So you decided to leave me without even saying goodbye…" I sighed, resting my elbows on the couch and brushing Riku's bangs away from his face. "If you want to repair our friendship, then the first thing you could do is get me a warm towel. Wet." I took a second to look up at her before cupping Riku's face in my hands as gently as I could. I felt him stir slightly, which made me relieved, giving me a signal that he was alive. I heard Miyuki walk away, then a faucet turn on and off, and she walked back to me with a damp towel in her hands, carefully holding it out to me.

"Thank you." I muttered, taking it from her and wiping off Riku's face, making sure to not wake him or give him any more pain. "Do you have a potion?"

"I'm afraid not. I'd go and buy one, but, you know, it's like, one in the morning." She pulled her pockets out to show that she really didn't have anything.

"Mm. So…" I used the dry end of the towel to gently at his skin dry. "What happened to you?" I folded the fabric a few times and placed it on my thigh, watching Miyuki carefully.

"Well…" She shifted a little and continued to look at Riku. "After I left D'sku, I went to Destiny Islands, where I met…" She trailed off, but once she looked at me, she nodded towards Riku.

I starred at her. "You're kidding."

"Nope." She shook her head. "He introduced me to Kairi, but I met Sora before. And… I met Riku before that time, too. You see, before… your mission, I…" She seemed so uneasy, telling me all of this. She wiped her hand over her mouth. "I kinda… Stalked Sora… with Riku." She looked over to the side, then up, basically avoiding any eye contact. "But… once he and Sora got back together on their islands, I was sent back to D'sku…" She shifted her angle and I heard soft jingling, which made my eyes widen.

"Miyuki, tell me it's not true." I pleaded, looking up at my friend with concern.

"I'm afraid it is." She pulled up her cargo pants to reveal an anklet similar to mine that was around her leg. "Her Majesty said that if I… Killed Sora… That I'd get my parents back."

"Well, that's obviously bull_shit._" I curtly replied. "Even I know that she can't bring people back from the dead."

"Yeah, I didn't know that back then…" She rubbed the back of her head in nervousness. "But, now that I do, and now that I've reunited with you, I asked Sakuya if there was any way that I can get this off. And he told me, that if I joined you on your mission, that I'd be able to get this off." I rubbed the back of my head as I took all of this in.

"Miyuki…" I mumbled, sighing. "My mission is to…" Riku stirred again when I pulled my hand away from his face that I had cupped, so I put it back, only to see him relax again. I looked back at her. "My mission is to bring these three to Her Majesty so she can kill them and take their abilities. But I know that's not possible, so it's kind of her loss." I shrugged.

"What? Yvaine, you can't let her do that!" Miyuki exclaimed, only to quickly slap her hands over her mouth.

"And I'm not going to, stupid." I hissed. "I'm planning on telling them as soon as Riku's better."

"That isn't a good idea, Yve." Miyuki's face resembled one of a cringe. She looked down for a few moments, then back up at me. "How about you tell them that that's my mission, but we're changing it so that we're actually killing her?"

"Miyuki, you sly dog." I chuckled as I crossed my legs. "You've always been good with plans, huh?"

"And you're always the one to make 'em happen." I chuckled at that comment.

"So, truce?" I held my hand out to her, which she clasped firmly.

"Of course, dummy." She sneered.

I laughed quietly. "Alright, go get some sleep. I'll meet you at the portal where the Princesses of Heart were held."

Miyuki shook her head. "Riku won't like that. He doesn't like places that bring back memories of his past."

I snorted. "Yeah, same thing happens to me whenever I go to a place that Vyaxine's been." I recalled.

"Meet me here at noon." She pointed to the middle of the sky, smirking.

"Deal." I clasped my hand over her shoulder and walked her to the door, watching her walk away and out of my sight before I silently closed the door. "Riku, I hope you're okay when that time comes…" I muttered, letting out a long sigh.

I decided to go investigate this 'heart' place my 'father' spoke about, which seemed to be called 'Hollow Bastion'. I walked up to the entrance which was a bunch of floating rocks, and I saw Riku standing at the top with the Beast fallen at his feet. I unconsciously shouted his name, and he only smirked at me. His eyes were more of a green color, and he called me 'Sora.' I call out his name and run over to him, but there's a little pond between us. I take a step forward and the scene changes.

**I'm looking at a young Riku, and we're looking for something. I found bird-like footprints and exclaim that I didn't notice them before, and something about someone going to a wharf. **

"**Geez, where is he?" I ask, and then find a yellow flower on the ground in front of some bushes. "A yellow feather?" I hear shuffling. "…Choco…? Are you in there?" I push the bush aside, muttering the name again, and when I do, my eyes widen and I stop. I hear Riku call my name from behind me and I wobble back to have Riku catch me by my upper arms. He looks up and gasps oh-so slightly, then covers my eyes and mutters for me to not look. I can't hold back anymore. I let out a scream of horror and pain, as if someone broke my leg and was setting it back in its place. **

**The scene shifts as if I'm watching an old movie. **

**I'm now starring at a cross made of wooden sticks, and I'm on my knees, Riku behind me. **

"**Sora…" He muttered, and my heart skips a beat. Why would he call me…Sora?**

"…**Let's go home." He continues. "It's almost night. If we don't hurry home, our parents will be worried…" He takes my wrist to see that I have dirt all over my hands, and he sighed. "…You idiot, Sora." He grumbled. "Digging with your hands… I told you already…" He lifted my hand to kiss the back of it. **

"**I… It's my fault. I… I didn't listen to you, Riku…" I feel tears' starting to form and my breathing becomes staggered, like I was punched in the gut. My heart feels heavy. "Choco… I'm sorry… Choco…" Again, I can't hold it in anymore, and let out another cry, the tears spilling over and down my face. I turn around to embrace Riku, who holds me gently. **

"…**Don't cry." Riku hushes. "Don't cry… I'll… always be with you." He murmurs, and I can sense a small smirk in his voice.**

I snap out of it to find myself at the entrance again, and I hear someone calling my name behind me. I turn around, only to see Sora running over to me, panting once he reached my side.

"Where are you… going?" He panted, leaning on his knees.

"To see if my father is here; where else?" I asked, watching as the teenager straightened himself out, using his keyblade to lean on. "Are you really that tired?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah! I saw that purple-haired girl, and I kinda got worried that something happened to you…" He pushed his index fingers together, looking down in embarrassment.

"You saw Miyuki?" I demanded, taking hold of Sora's shoulders and giving him a firm shake. "Was she looking for me?"

Sora's eyes were wide. "Uh, yeah, but I told her that I didn't know where you were, so she said that she'd just wait there." I sighed and lowered my head.

"I really am a horrible person… Aren't I?" I laughed dryly at myself, turning away and continuing towards the top, Sora following behind me. "So you just… left the other two?" I asked after a few minutes of listening to the sound of our footprints.

"Well, Riku was up, and he said that he'd wait for Kairi to wake up." Sora shrugged and my head fell forward. "But no worries!" The boy exclaimed. "He's not angry or anything." He made a kitty face to cheer me up, which worked. A smirk came across my face.

"Well, that's good." I put my hands on the back of my head and continued forward, stopping when we reached the first large room with two staircases that led to a door with a heartless symbol on it. "This place…" I muttered, and when Sora reached to hold onto my arm like a scared puppy, I had another episode.

I was fighting Riku, pleading for him to stop and asking why he was doing this. I swung my keyblade and sliced his chest and he staggered back, before growling, literally, _growling_, at me before running off.

I snapped out of it and had Sora waving his hand in front of my face. "S…Sorry. I've been having these weird… visions." I muttered, putting a hand to my forehead. "Does the name Choco mean anything to you?"

Sora's eyes widened as soon as I said the name, his expression showing pure horror and shock. "Choco…?" He echoed, his voice sounding distant. The poor boy started swaying a little, and ended up falling on me. Thankfully I caught him.

"Is a bird that big of a deal?" I asked, looking at him nervously.

"How did you know about Choco?" Sora asked, taking hold of my arms and shaking me a little. "Who told you?" He didn't sound angry. Just… roughly curious.

"Knock it off!" I snapped, baring my teeth at him. "No one told me." I responded, looking away. "It's just…" I rubbed the back of my head. "I'll explain later; when everyone else is around." I dropped Sora onto his back and turned around, continuing.

"Yvaine!" That didn't sound like Sora… Turning around, I saw Miyuki running up to us, Sora summoning his keyblade. I set my hand lightly on it and shook my head at him when he looked at me in a confused way.

"She's a friend." I murmured as I walked over to her. "What is it?" I asked.

"Nayos isn't here." She panted, leaning on her knees like Sora was.

"He isn't? Is he even alive?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting. Miyuki shook his head, and I smirked evilly.

"He's not?" Sora asked, only to see me wheel around on my heel and slap him right across his face with my right hand. The boy staggered backwards, holding his hand over his cheek with a shocked, and somewhat hurt expression. "Fuck, Yve!" He exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Oh Omega. Are you gonna _cry?_" I asked with a smile.

"No." Sora quickly replied. "You're gonna cry." His voice cracked and I just started laughing, though I patted his back. "You should've made that bet with me." I said, still chuckling. "So he's really not here? Then how…"

"That was Kai. He wanted to lure you here, but mostly… He wanted to lure Sora here." Miyuki glanced at Sora before looking back at me. "He plans to kidnap him and bring him to Her Majesty."

"He's not going to." I wrapped my arm protectively around the boy who was still in pain from my slap. "I will kill him if necessary to protect them." Miyuki looked shocked at how serious I was about this.

"You'd turn on your people?" She asked, her eyebrows knitting. I nodded.

"The Dusk Realm was never my home. It was just where I lived." I looked down, allowing my arm to drop from Sora's shoulder. "My home is with my friends. With…" I looked away from all of them, standing still when Sora wrapped his arms around my arm and rubbed his cheek against my shoulder.

"Aww! We love you too, Yve!" He exclaimed gaily. "And to think that when we first met you, that you were so cold to us." He chuckled.

"That's because my heart was drenched in darkness." I muttered.

"Just like mine once was." Miyuki said with a weak smile.

"And Riku." Sora laughed. "Just remember, that no matter how much darkness you think your heart has, that there is always a light that never goes out." He poked my cheek and I smacked his hand away.

"I can see my handprint on your face." I teased pointing to Sora's cheek.

Sora sighed through his nose and puffed out his cheeks. "Let's get outta here." He muttered, rubbing his cheek as he walked out of the area with Miyuki and I right behind him. I reached out and took hold of his shoulder, pulling him back to walk next to me, my hand sliding down to hold his.

"Just making sure that you don't try running off in this place." I muttered.

"So… Do you know what happened to Vyaxine? I mean, why she is the way she is now?" Miyuki asked, clasping her hands behind her back and watching her feet.

"No, not really. I mean, I know that the whole watching her 'lover' die must've gotten to her, but other then that, I don't know." I let out a sigh once we were out of the building, heading back for the town. "I just hope she fuses with me to end it all."

"And if she doesn't?" Asked Sora.

"Well, then I'll just have to end her like you did everyone else."

"That's really sad." Miyuki muttered after a while.

"How so?"

"I feel like all she wants to do is see Demyx again." She shrugged. "But she'll never be able to, 'cause if she fuses with you, then she's kinda stuck there, but if you end her, then she'll become nothing."

"Such is the way of a Nobody." Sora said with a deep breath.

By now we were back at Merlin's house, entering the area with me dropping Sora's hand. The area was completely vacant, not even Riku or Kairi there. "Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Probably at the computer lab." Sora shrugged. "We can wait." He plopped himself down on the chair next to the couch, smiling in content.

"I'm gonna go upstairs." Miyuki left the area.

"So…" Sora looked at me seriously. "How do you know about Choco?" He asked. I sighed again as my response.

"It's a long story." I rubbed my neck and sat down, leaning on my elbows that were placed on my knees.

"I have time." Sora smirked.

.

WELL. I've been busy(my normal excuse) with shoots, and next Wednesday - Friday I'm busy. Dx THURSDAY IS AWOLNATION! **squee  
**And beside that... I have no excuse. The most stressful things have been taken care of finally, and now I just have to wait.  
I've been writing about a page every day, so HA. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.

And to those of you who reviewed: **_I LOVE YOU._**


	29. Authors Note

I've gotten some messages about when I'm going to update this story again, and honestly, I think I'm going to edit all of it. It doesn't tickle my fancy, and although I've still been doing small one-shots of them, I'm just recently getting back into the Kingdom Hearts world after being lost in Zelda and Rise of the Guardians.

Sadly, I won't be updating anytime soon because of senior duties and I'm leaving for a convention tomorrow (It's Sakuracon in Seattle, WA. If you're going, hit me up with a message and I'll see if I can meet you!)

But yes, sadly, I'm going to edit all of my chapters so they're not all wonky and gross, and I'll hopefully be making the story more clear from here on out. So until a new chapter, I'll be editing all of the past ones.


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